ULAANBAATAR/HONG KONG: Private citizens in Mongolia are donating cash, jewelry, gold and even horses to help the government make a near $600 million payment to bondholders next month.
The cash-strapped nation has been embroiled in an economic crisis brought about by a collapse in foreign investment, slowing growth in China and weak commodity prices.
Its currency, the tugrik, lost nearly a quarter of its value last year.
The government has been in talks with China and the International Monetary Fund for assistance, but investors are worried that any bailouts might not be negotiated in time, with the Development Bank of Mongolia’s $580 million of bonds due in March.
“If they don’t get the IMF bailout, where do they get the resources for this payment, without which they can’t do a new bond to refinance? It’s a chicken and egg situation,” said a Hong Kong-based trader.
The bonds were showing a bid of 98 cents on the dollar on Thursday, with a yield as high as 21.5 percent because of their closeness to maturity.
Though the Mongolian public has been hit by welfare cuts, rising food and fuel costs and a tough winter that is threatening to kill large numbers of livestock, donation pledges began to flood in this week after a campaign was launched by a prominent economist and members of parliament.
Corporate groups and legislators were also chipping in with cash contributions of as much as 100 million tugrik ($40,650).
Mongolia’s foreign currency reserves are at a seven-year low, according to credit rating agency Fitch, and redeeming DBM’s bonds could halve its total stockpile, which stood at $1.1 billion in September last year.
“The biggest issue for Mongolia is the very low level of FX reserves for financing this year, which is essentially why investors are closely watching out for an agreement with the IMF,” said Simon Quijano, emerging markets strategist with Legal & General Investment Management.
“Of course, Mongolia could go for other financing options but it is always the uncertainty on each of those options that causes unnecessary volatility,” he said.
Prime Minister Jargaltulga Erdenebat said that while the government would accept the donations, it had already “found a solution” for the March bond payment and would spend the cash elsewhere.
“The government cannot prohibit the start of any citizen-run campaign,” he said in a statement released on Wednesday.
“The cabinet has decided to spend voluntary donations on health, education and reducing smog as well as public infrastructure,” he added.
A senior Mongolian finance official said late last year that the country was looking to refinance its debt through lower-interest loans, and insisted the payments would be met in full. (Reporting by Terrence Edwards in UlaanBaatar and Umesh Desai in Hong Kong)
Mongolian citizens offer cash, jewelry, horses to pay off gov’t debt
Mongolian citizens offer cash, jewelry, horses to pay off gov’t debt
Oman inflation at 1.6%, latest figures show
RIYADH: Oman’s consumer price index rose by 1.6 percent in December compared with the same month a year earlier, reflecting moderate inflationary pressures at year’s end.
Average inflation for the January–December 2025 period increased by 1 percent, according to official data.
Figures released by the National Center for Statistics and Information showed that miscellaneous personal goods and services recorded the sharpest price increase, rising by 10 percent year on year.
This was followed by transport at 2.8 percent, restaurants and hotels at 2.6 percent, and furniture, household equipment and routine maintenance at 2.4 percent, as well as education at 2.2 percent.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages prices increased by 1.1 percent, while clothing and footwear rose by 0.2 percent and health by 0.1 percent. In contrast, prices in the culture and recreation group declined by 0.1 percent.
Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, as well as tobacco and communications, remained unchanged over the period.
Within the food and non-alcoholic beverages category, December prices compared with the same month of 2024 showed notable increases in fish and seafood at 6 percent and fruits at 4 percent.
Sugar, jam, honey and confectionery rose by 3.5 percent, milk, cheese and eggs by 2.1 percent, and non-alcoholic beverages by 0.9 percent.
Meat prices increased by 0.8 percent, bread and cereals, oils and fats by 0.7 percent, and other unclassified food products by 0.4 percent, while vegetable prices fell by 5.8 percent.
Regionally, Al Dhahirah governorate recorded the highest inflation rate at 2.5 percent by the end of December compared with a year earlier.
Inflation also rose by 2.1 percent in Al Dakhiliyah, 1.7 percent in Muscat and Al Buraimi, and 1.5 percent in South Al Batinah.
South Al Sharqiyah and Musandam each posted increases of 1.1 percent, while North Al Sharqiyah and North Al Batinah rose by 0.9 percent. Al Wusta and Dhofar recorded inflation of 0.8 percent.
The report highlights the relative importance of expenditure groups within the consumer price index basket, underscoring why movements in certain categories have a greater impact on overall inflation.
Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels carry the largest weight at 31.7, followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages at 20.6 and transport at 14.5.
Together, these three groups account for more than two-thirds of the CPI basket, meaning price stability in housing and utilities can significantly moderate headline inflation even when sharper increases are recorded in smaller-weight categories such as miscellaneous goods and services.
The analysis also notes that around 56,640 individual price quotations were collected from 3,907 sources across the Sultanate during the reference period.
In addition, rental data were gathered from a dedicated sample of 1,509 rented housing units, providing a detailed and representative measure of housing costs, which remain the most heavily weighted component of the inflation basket.
