The FINANCIAL — IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, on July 19 signed a memorandum of understanding with the Cabinet Secretariat of the Government of Mongolia. The MoU aims to improve investment policies, promote economic diversification, enhance investor protection — thus inspiring investors’ confidence — and further attract and retain private investments.
The Cabinet Secretariat will lead the reform efforts in coordination with various government agencies. Over the next three years, the Government of Mongolia will design a coherent investment policy and launch a Systemic Investor Response Mechanism (SIRM) to deal with investors’ grievances in a systematic manner. It will also promote the country’s agribusiness sector to domestic and foreign investors. IFC will provide policy recommendations and implementation support, according to IFC.
“Investing in agribusiness will help diversify Mongolia’s mining-driven economy, thus creating more job opportunities,” said Munkhbat Jamiyan, Minister, Chief of the Cabinet Secretariat, Mongolia. “However, attracting new investments is not enough. We also need practical tools to protect investments, ensuring that the investors stay on in Mongolia and scale up investments.”
In 2016, Mongolia’s economic growth slowed down to one percent amid declining exports and foreign direct investments. However, starting from the first half of 2017, growth has increased to 4.2 percent. The Government of Mongolia is committed to working with international partners, including the World Bank Group, to achieve economic stability and recovery, underpinned by fiscal reforms and foreign direct investment. Multilaterals such as the International Monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank are also committed to support Mongolia toward sustainable recovery and growth.
“Stable investment policies — including early mechanism to effectively address investors’ grievances — are crucial for Mongolia to attract and retain private investments, which are both essential for sustainable growth,” said Tuyen D. Nguyen, IFC Resident Representative for Mongolia. “With the Government of Mongolia’s full support, IFC will continue to help implement global best practices, supporting Mongolia’s long-term development objectives.”
The SIRM will offer investors a one-stop channel to register and track resolution of complaints at an early stage. This mechanism will assure investors that issues are handled efficiently and resolutions are ensured without fear of retribution. With financial support from the Hungarian government, it will also use information and communication technology to make the process efficient, accountable and result-oriented.
“Supporting Mongolia’s development has been an important part of Hungary’s Trust Fund Partnership with IFC,” said Ákos Madari, Ambassador of Hungary to Mongolia. “Following the successful collaboration on food safety, we are also helping Mongolia improve its water management and investment promotion policy. We do hope our support will enable the country to attract more foreign investments and improve investment climate.’
This project will be delivered by IFC advisory services through the Trade & Competitiveness Global Practice of the World Bank Group.
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