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There are some plac-es on earth that only a few of us have ever visited or even seen

in pictures but whose mere names have captivated gener-ations of would-be adventur-ers. Mongolia is one of them.

This huge country sprawling between Russia and China on the arid plains of central-eastern Asia is a very old nation, but also a very young one.

The oldest empire that ruled this land and its tribes of no-madic herdsmen dates back to the second century before Christ, but its mightiest and most revered emperor is Geng-his Khan (1162-1227), as evi-denced by the truly awesome, 131-foot high equestrian statue of Khan erected in 2008 on the steppes outside of the capital.

However, Mongolia as we know it today was born only in 1990 in the wake of the fall of the Soviet Union, and half of its scarce population of 2.9 million is of the same age: just under 25. For a 20-something, landlocked nation squeezed between two of the planet’s most formidable modern em-pires, Mongolia has achieved a lot: a multi-party democracy and unprecedented prosperity.

Indeed, the country sits on an estimated $1.3 trillion of natural resources, to which it owes in large part its phenom-

enal growth of recent years: 17% in 2011, 12.4% in 2012, and 11.7% in 2013.

“Our achievements have been noticed and people are interested: Mongolia is seen as a future economic power and a very important connection point in northeast Asia’s eco-

nomic prosperity,” says Minis-ter of Foreign Affairs, Luvsan-vandan Bold.

Mongolia’s large mineral and precious metal deposits have attracted foreign investors and enabled it to transform itself from a state-controlled, socialist economy into a booming free market, thanks in large part to mining, which represents about a third of its GDP and 90% of its exports. According to the World Bank, this growth has translated into benefits for the people and poverty has receded

over the past 10 years, although it was still at 27.4% in 2012. Sub-stantial progress has also been made in regard to several Mil-lennium Development Goals at the national level.

Nowhere is this more visible than in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, where most of the population lives. Long a dusty trading post for nomad merchants, it is now a vibrant (albeit still dusty) city that embodies how Mongolia sees itself: a fascinating fusion between ancient traditions and the modern, Western way of life. Where else would you find an Irish pub called The Grand Khan, where scores of expats flock in the evening for a beer, except between the 1st and 15th of every month when al-cohol is not sold?

“Mongolian people are very open. We welcome visitors to our beautiful country, to experi-ence our culture, arts, customs and traditions. Enjoy the beauty of nature and the beauty of the mind of the Mongolian peo-ple!” says the First Lady, Bolor-maa Khajidsuren.

But managing the opening of the economy while main-taining sovereignty over its resources has proved to be a delicate exercise for Mongolia. It has suffered from a decline in China’s demand in mineral products and several shocks in global commodity prices.

There was also a dispute between Mongolian author-ities and mining company Rio Tinto over a tax bill re-lated to the Oyu Tolgoi cop-per mine. The $6.5 billion Oyu Tolgoi project will pro-duce more than 300,000 tons of copper concentrate a year

once construction is fully completed. It is expected to boost Mongolia’s economy by a third by 2020.

Furthermore, an investment law passed in 2012 to restrict foreign investors (read China) from acquiring a majority stake in companies operating in certain strategic sectors such as mining and telecom-munications, backfired. As overseas companies delayed new projects, foreign direct investment shrank by half in 2013 and by 70% over the first six months of 2014.

In a bid to woo back foreign investors, authorities swiftly enacted a new investment law, in November 2013, eliminat-ing previous restrictions, and in July this year, Parliament approved changes to the 2006 Minerals Law. Amendments include widening the propor-tion of Mongolia’s area open to mining and exploration from 8% to 20%, removing a 2010 ban on new licenses, and ex-tending the period of explora-tion from nine to 12 years.

Moreover, it was announced in September this year that the dis-pute over the all-important Oyu Tolgoi mine had been solved.

With a flurry of projects cur-rently underway in infrastruc-ture development, telecoms, construction, tourism, without mentioning mining, Mongolia is eager to show the world it’s ready for business. One im-portant partner is the United States, which Mongolia calls its “Third Neighbor” – the first and second ones being China and Russia –, with whom it has signed several agreements:

an Overseas Private Invest-ment Corporation agreement, a trade agreement, a bilateral investment treaty, and a trade and investment framework agreement. Mongolia is a stra-tegic ally for Washington in a region where it has had very little influence historically, and it is to be noted that the Asian giant sent troops to Iraq be-tween 2003 and 2008 as well as to Afghanistan.

“This is an open and trans-parent country where Ameri-cans are welcome,” says Presi-dent Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj. “The people of Mongolia are constantly demanding changes for the better. Doing business in Mongolia is also changing; there will be more changes in the mining sector and a clearer, more transparent framework for companies who choose to invest here. Some people say that information is everything, knowledge becomes the global demand, not only knowledge, but also transparent and ac-countable information, and this is what we are striving for.”

MONGOLIAThe return of the empire as

Asia’s new nexus

Monday, November 17, 2014

#Mongolia

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Astonishing rates of economic growth, ambitious infrastructure development plans, untapped investment opportunities and a thriving democracy combine to put Mongolia in the global spotlight

“MOngOlia is seen as a future ecOnOMic pOWer and a very iMpOrtant cOnnectiOn pOint in nOrtheast AsiA’s economic prOsperity”

LUvSANvANDAN BOLD,Minister of Foreign Affairs

“there Will be MOre changes in the Mining sectOr and a clearer, MOre transparent fraMeWOrk fOr cOMpanies WhO chOOse tO invest here”

TSAkHiAgiiN ELBEgDORj,Mongolian President

a united WOrld suppleMent prOduced by: fernando Mora, project directorpaula Marmol, project coordinatorandrew Machaj, regional directorMatteo trastevere, project assistantlucas nuttal, project assistant

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“We’re looking fOr investOrs in Mining, energy and transpOrt infrastructure fOr Our $50 bn Mega prOjects”

AMARjARgAL gANSUkH, Minister of Road and Transportation

“the gOvernMent has established a rOad develOpMent plan and is Willing tO prOvide jObs tO rOad cOnstructiOn cOMpanies”

T. BYAMBAA, President of Mongolian Road Association

“We are pursuing a pOlicy tO substitute iMpOrt gOOds in the cOnstructiOn sectOr”

BAYARSAikHAN TSEvELMAA, Minister of Construction & Urban Development

“the prOMOtiOn Of infrastructure develOpMent in MOngOlia is crucial”

ENkHjARgAL jUMDAAN, President of Nasnii Zam

mongolia’s underdeveloped road sector has great potential to be an engine for the country’s socio-economic growth. The national Development strategy looks to help achieve this potential, while the government also eagerly invites foreign companies to invest in projects

Ripe investment opportunities in road sector development

Roads for a lifetime

Mongolia’s National D e velopment Strategy considers road infrastruc-

ture to be a key instrument in fostering regional development and hopes to have an entire na-tional paved road network (6,990 miles) completed by 2021. In addition to the $300 million that the Mongolian government has already al-located for this grand un-dertaking, foreign investors are in high demand to help finance related projects.

“We are looking for inves-tors in mining, energy and transport infrastructure for the $50 billion mega projects that we are going to do in the next 10 years,” says Amar-jargal Gansukh, Minister of Road Transportation.

Like his peers in the road sector, Mr. Gansukh believes in the huge potential the sec-tor has to serve as a catalyst for further development, the creation of jobs, and greater interconnectivity between Mongolia and its neighbors – something which is direly needed in a country where rural to urban migration has severely impacted its demo-graphics.

“Ulaanbaatar city was planned for 500 to 600 thou-

sand dwellers,” says Bayar-saikhan Tsevelmaa, Mongo-lian Minister of Construction and Urban Development. “But in the last years, due to migration from urban areas, the city currently has more than 1 million dwellers. As a result, we emphasize the im-portance of developing not only Ulaanbaatar city, but also other cities around the capital city including Dark-han, Baganuur, Choir and Zuun Mod.”

In addition to government

support for its road expan-sion projects, the sector also benefits from the assistance of the Mongolian Road Asso-ciation (MRA), a non-profit, non-governmental organi-zation established in 2008. Last year, the association or-ganized the first annual Road Expo Mongolia, an event which united a multitude of companies and distributors to showcase their technolo-gies and services.

“The world’s latest road technologies and equipment

have already been imported to Mongolia, but most people are still not well acquainted with them,” explains MRA’s president, T. Byambaa. By creating events like Road Expo, he hopes to show Mongolians that the sector’s development is a wellspring of untapped potential and a prime means of stimulating employment, providing more efficient transport of mining resources to foreign markets, and fostering broad-based economic growth.

For the past 13 years, Nasnii Zam, a com-pany whose name translates as “Roads

for a Lifetime,” has been engaged in the business of pioneering world-class road construction across Mon-golia. Now with over 500 employees and its own as-phalt factories, including a concrete mixing facility, a bi-tumen storage shop, and its own railway for transport-ing the building materials it produces, the company has grown both in size and ca-pacity.

As the company’s presi-dent, Enkhjargal Jumdaan points out, when Mongolia’s road construction sector first started to take off, it was only possible to construct about 21 miles of roads per year. Now, just over a de-cade later, that figure has in-

creased to over 1,120 miles, and Nasnii Zam continues to pave the way with several very ambitious road-build-

ing projects in the works. At present, the company

is focused on furthering the goals of “Millennium Road”, a project set forth by the Mon-golian government which

aims to connect the 12 rural provinces of Mongolia with the country’s capital city, Ulaanbaatar, by 2016. “For now we are planning to con-nect six province centers”, says Mr. Jumdaan. “Howev-er, Mongolia has a territory of approximately 1.5 million square kilometers (580,000 square miles). To connect all 21 provinces of the country with paved roads is the even-tual objective of the project.”

Mongolia’s strategic lo-cation between China and Russia gives it several very favorable geopolitical ad-vantages that the addition of paved roads will only en-hance. Beyond allowing ru-ral residents easier access to the country’s capital, more paved roads are expected to stimulate the develop-ment of international tran-sit, giving both Mongolians

and their foreign neighbors more convenient ways to interact. There is currently one 1,740-mile highway that spans the width of the coun-try and essentially begins in Tokyo and ends in Istanbul, though a more complex net-work of roads connecting different areas of Mongolia to one another would be of particular benefit to a vari-ety of local sectors.

For instance, greater ac-cess to paved roads will al-low Mongolians to expand the scope of land they can extract natural resources from. Nasnii Zam’s president reveals that the country is now only exploring and ex-tracting resources from re-gions of the South Gobi and other southern provinces, though the potential to mine more would be tremendous, if the appropriate roads in-

frastructure allowed for it. “The promotion of infra-

structure development in Mongolia is crucial,” he as-serts. For everything from mining to agriculture – which is still a very promi-nent industry in Mongolia, “it will give equal develop-ment opportunities to all economic and industrial sec-tors,” he says.

To date, Mr. Jumdaan’s company has paved over 430 miles of Mongolian roads and more than 6,500 feet of bridges. Now taking to the skies, Nasnii Zam has recently become involved in one of the biggest construc-tion projects in Mongolia – the construction of a new international airport in the Khushig Valley in the Tuv province, for which it is col-laborating with the likes of Samsung.

Together with other road builders, nasnii Zam has embarked on the construction of the millennium road Project that will connect Ulaanbaatar with its two big neighboring countries

nAZnii ZAm’s president enkhjargal juMdaan says that frOM an initial 21 Miles per year, the capacity Of rOad cOnstructiOn tOday in MOngOlia has reached 1,120 Miles per year

“in 2014 We have heavily fOcused On the rOad netWOrk fOr the six prOvinces and infrastructure engineering structures”

BAYARSAikHAN TSEvELMAA,Minister of Construction & Urban Development

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Award-winning company for international partnersArts suvraga llc executes the first 100% mongolian made project: the construction of the oyu Tolgoi Airport

Mongolia’s underdeveloped road, transport and build-ings infrastructure has great potential to boost the coun-try’s economic growth, and

blossoming construc-tion company Arts

Suvraga LLC, with the help of foreign

investment, is up to the task.

The award-w i n n i n g

c o m p a n y , established in 1999 and based in

the capital Ulaanbaatar, lists the successful construction of Oyu Tolgoi Airport, which opened in February 2013, as its flagship project but has also overseen successful as-signments including laying road junctions, the construc-tion of a hospital and the building of apartment and office blocks.

The secret to the company’s success is cooperation with partners, domestic and for-eign, and Shajinbat Altansukh, Director of Arts Suvraga, says these partnerships, especially

with companies from the U.S., will offer mutual benefits and help Mongolia improve its in-frastructure.

“Any cooperation is based on mutual benefits,” says Mr. Altansukh. “The economic growth of Mongolia is just about to start. So I will be open to any type of cooperation with United States companies and investors.”

The construction of the Oyu Tolgoi Airport became the first case in Mongolia where a Mongolian company with Mongolian engineers and em-

ployees had executed such a project. That is a source of pride for Mr. Altansukh and it was made possible thanks to “great cooperation” with American construction giant Fluor.

Arts Suvraga, which has won awards for its safety record and employs up to 1,000 workers during the peak season, is now working on a railway project and housing development. Continued cooperation with American partners will only help the company, and Mon-golia, achieve its goals.

“fOr investOrs frOM develOped Markets, My Message is that the MOngOlian rOad sectOr has a prOMising fUTUre. AnD in Order tO penetrate this Market, We PUrsUe long-terM strategies cOMpared tO Other cOMpanies”MUNkHBAATAR kH,Director of Public Road

Investors sought for a promising futurePublic road uses Western standards in building and paving roads to last for the long-term, while gashuuni gol and map road bring new technology to the table to further the sector and contribute to the government’s ambitious road targets

Mongolia’s road de-velopment plans are highly ambi-tious, yet thus far,

things are seemingly right on track. “As of this year, 23% of roads are paved, which is quite close to the plan,” re-marks Munkhbaatar Kh, Di-rector of Public Road. How-ever, with a target of building an additional 7,600 miles of road by 2020, the country’s road construction compa-nies have quite the challenge set out for them.

Mr. Munkhbaatar explains that the biggest obstacle to meeting the objectives is finding adequate financ-ing. “We all depend on the government budget, eco-nomic prosperity and inter-national mining companies,” he says. “Once the financing is decided, we need to pre-pare human resources and equipment. As for Mongo-lia, which is a small country, human capital is one of the major issues as well.”

Public Road looks abroad for expertise and financing, especially to the U.S. – which like Mongolia, has vast ex-panses of largely unpopu-lated land between cities – and Europe. “Our foreign relations are excellent. We al-ways attend human resource training programs. We have an exchange program with a German corporation and we receive specialists from this association and get training on human resources,” says Mr. Munkhbaatar.

“For investors from devel-oped markets, my message is that the Mongolian road sec-tor has a promising future. And in order to penetrate

this market, we pursue long-term strategies compared to other companies,” adds the Director.

Mr. Munkhbaatar’s com-pany, founded at the turn of the decade, also looks beyond the region for techniques and equipment. Indeed, its pro-posal for road management based on European standards won approval from the Mon-golian Development Bank, which financed two of Public Road’s early projects.

“Our history may be short but our future will be long. We are the only ones adopt-ing a high level of project

standards to adapt to the environment of Mongolia. We are pioneers in introduc-ing developed and Western standards; we don’t use the outdated Russian standard,” explains Mr. Munkhbaatar.

“For example, simply filling the road holes was a Russian standard at the time of the socialist budgetary policy. We

began talking to the Ministry of Road and Construction to make road project manage-ment the standard in our sec-tor. I presented a document on project management standards that I’d worked on privately. It takes us one step closer towards excelling at road project management.”

Speaking about upcom-ing projects, Mr. Munkh-baatar says the company is looking at taking part in the construction of the Chinggis International Group’s Mon-golian Millennium Highway, which will span the entire width of the country from

east to west. Public Road’s possible 12-mile chunk would connect to the new airport, says the Director.

In addition to building and paving roads, Public Road also does soil preparation, and thus, Mr. Munkhbaatar sees potential in working in the railway sector. “We have recently established a railway

association and started pre-paring our human resources,” he says.

Public Road’s Director brings to the table not only years of experience in the road sector, but also a back-ground in economics – a unique characteristic in a Mongolian road company head. Mr. Munkhbaatar points out that its three top priorities also set Public Road apart from the competition.

“The three main prin-ciples for our company are firstly, to work in an envi-ronmentally safe manner. Additionally, one of the big-gest issues for Mongolian roads is the quality. Thus, we give the second highest priority to quality. Another problem in road projects is that they’re not finished within the time frame. This is our third principle, exem-plified by the fact that all the projects we have executed were completed before the deadline.”

gashuuni gOl: piOneers in paving rOads

As part of the government’s Road Development Plan, lo-cal firm Gashuuni Gol will pave 18 miles of road between Undurkhaan and Choibalsan, two regional towns of the Khentii province in the East of Mongolia.

The company’s GD, Duger Altantsetseg, explains that the project will incorporate a new technique pioneered by her company. Instead of us-ing crushed rocks and small stones as a foundation for construction, Gashuuni Gol

has started using a 20cm thick special cement reinforced concrete foundation layer that can better withstand the harsh Mongolian weather. It is just the beginning of several new high-tech improvements that the company hopes to incorporate with the help of foreign partners.

“With advanced technol-ogy there will be no limit to build the roads that Mongolia needs, and we will be there to do it,” she says.

mAP roAD’s PATh fOr develOpMent

Since its establishment nearly a decade ago, Map Road has build up a successful track record as an assistant execu-tor on several infrastructure projects, specializing in arti-ficial facilities. Now with sol-id reputation under its belt, it hopes to become a direct contractor and collaborate with foreign companies.

According to the Executive Director, Mr. Munkhbaatar, one of Map Road’s main challenges is investment. He explains that his company currently relies primarily on projects financed by the state, which limits the scope of work it can take on. With the help of foreign invest-ment, the company could branch out into concession tenders, or projects where companies execute a project with their own finances.

“Our company’s mission is to ‘Create together and develop together,” says Mr. Munkhbaatar. “We seek U.S. partners to help us to be-come one of the main road contractors in Mongolia.”

“With advanced technOlOgy there Will be nO liMit tO build the rOads that MOngOlia needs, and We Will be there tO dO it”

DUgER ALTANTSETSEg,general Director of gashuuni gol

“oUr comPAny’s MissiOn is tO ‘creATe TogeTher and develOp TogeTher’. We seek U.s. PArTners To help us tO becOMe On Of the Main rOad cOntractOrs in MOngOlia”

MR. MUNkHBAATAR,Executive Director of Map Road

Public Road introduced to Mongolia modern Western standards for road management and maintenance

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Mongolia is the 19th largest country in the world in terms of area and while Ulaanbaatar faces problems with over-crowding and smog, its rural areas are the most sparsely populated on earth. Infrastruc-ture-wise, Mongolia doesn’t have a very extensive road net-work, and the government is working to address this.

Companies like National Developer are chipping in to help the state meet the tar-get of building 3,500 miles of new roads by 2016. As of 2012, there were 30,500 miles of state roads, of which just 6% (1,830 miles) were paved.

For 2013, the goal was to lay and pave 840 miles’ worth of roads connecting Ulaan-baatar with six aimak, or regional, centers. Badamsed Gansukh, General Director of National Developer, says his company was the first to start on the aimak project.

Over 2014-15, six more re-gional centers will be linked to the capital by road and by 2021, the government’s New Development Program for the Medium Term dictates that Mongolia will have a total of 6,990 miles of paved roads. That’s four times more than it had in 2012 and the price tag is expected to be

around $3.5 billion. For Mr. Gansukh, it is im-

perative that road construc-tion companies in Mongolia invest in better technologies and follow new methods, which can drastically cut costs. “The cost of one ki-lometer of road is $312,000 following the new standard. World standard is $1.8 mil-lion, so the new way is six times less,” he says.

The General Director would also like more empha-sis placed on road mainte-nance, as well as quality over quantity. “There is not an efficient system for mainte-nance, meaning roads aren’t good for long,” he laments, adding, “My vision is: let’s build fewer roads but with better quality.”

National Developer paves the way for national development

National Developer was established in 2007 and since its inception, it has focused on acquiring good equip-ment and materials, secur-ing contracts that it fulfills to the highest standards, and hiring experienced and highly skilled manpower.

“We are a young company but during these six years we have hired very good, qualified engineers and our HR policy is very fair for ev-erybody. People feel work-ing here is a very positive experience because we don’t just push them to work – we also strive to ensure their job satisfaction. Every em-ployee should come to work with a smile,” explains Mr. Gansukh.

local road construction and maintenance firm national Developer is an active and critical player in the state’s ambitious plan to build thousands of miles of new roads

National Developer was the first company to build new roads connecting

the regions to the capital in 2013

National Developer hires top flight engineers for its team

Social growth target of new projectsestablished in 1991, odcon holding is an example of how the construction industry is contributing to the nation’s social development, as demand for affordable hous-ing grows in Mongolia

As Mongolia develops – with its continuing integra-tion of traditional rural-ity towards more modern urbanity – the demand for housing, offices and other construction works are in-evitably on the rise.

And while Ulaanbaatar continues its rapid growth with nearly half of Mongo-lia’s 2.8 million inhabitants now calling the city their home, the country’s real es-tate sector is living a golden moment.

“We have been living a truly historic transforma-tion,” says Mr. Л.Munkhbat, Executive Director of Odcon Holding - the award winning firm that has been identified among the ten best construction compa-nies in Mongolia by the Ministry of Infrastructure.

Such transformation not only refers to the con-solidation of Mongolia as a modern democracy and a market economy, but the great process of ur-banization that has taken hold – and continues to take hold – of this vastly sparse nation dominated by mountains and remote countryside.

“Today we have increas-ing numbers of migrants coming into the city, so [housing] demand will continue to be high in the next few years,” explains Mr. Л.Munkhbat.

Indeed, as Ulaanbaatar expands, many thousands of herder families who live in traditional ger districts on outskirts of the city are now being confronted with the new urban landscape.

And with many of these settlements built illegally, without proper waste man-agement, water supply or electricity, the government is aiming to provide af-fordable housing for these communities. In doing so, companies like Odcon have a chance not only to take advantage of new projects, but also make a difference to the many lives that have never had the luxury of a modern home.

“We participate in bid-dings and if we win we try to implement the project the best way we can,” says the Odcon director, whose company have also em-barked on other indepen-dent social projects in the ger districts.

“In one of the 21 aimags (provinces), our company has also built a residential micro district for people living in centre of the prov-

ince by ourselves and at our own initiative and financial capacity. The project is go-ing on and it has been suc-cessful. I think this kind of contribution from private companies is vital.”

In the meantime, with much of the real estate market highly focused on Ulaanbaatar and thus the construction industry coming under increas-ing pressure due to the rocketing demand, sup-ply constraints, extreme weather and geographical hindrances (such as the surrounding mountainous terrain), it is the respon-sibility of companies like Odcon – as well as the government – to ensure the capital city develops sustainably and the indus-try adopts international standards and practices as it heightens its cooperation with foreign investors.

“The construction sector should make steps ahead towards international standards,” stresses Mr. Л.Munkhbat. “We want not just buildings, but en-ergy saving, eco friendly and stylish buildings. We want educated and trained engineers and workers who will be great capital to our company and our country.

“Advanced technology is needed here. We are ready to cooperate with [US companies] if you have the latest technology for such a cold country. Especially Alaska could be our great companion. We are ready to cooperate with you in trade, service and electric, sanitary, ventilation.”

Interior design focused on eco-friendly luxury Mongolia is a country with a rich and traditional past but with the country’s growing economy there is also a need to focus on the future. With multinational companies set-ting up shop in the Asian na-tion, Mongolia is making big strides forward in getting its infrastructure up to scratch to help continue its growth.

One example is Front Gate, an eco-friendly interior design and construction company that helps create the perfect working and living conditions

using modern yet still eco-conscious materials and stand-ards. The company, which is “executing best quality projects and luxury building projects in Mongolia and beyond”, has clients including Pepsi, Stand-ard Chartered Bank and World Bank in its portfolio.

The growth of the company, as a result of Mongolia’s improv-ing economy, has been helped by the political changes that have helped attract fresh busi-ness and opportunities in the real estate sector. “It is changing

very rapidly,” says Ms. A Tsen-gelmaa, founder and Director of Front Gate. “A new government was formed when the country became a democratic country. During socialist times, I was a child. Business at that time and business now are totally differ-ent. The country has prepared itself for development and in the last five years, the government, private and public sector have seen lots of growth.”

International partners are also being sought given changes to the law, which Ms.

Tsengelmaa says will see foreign companies take a bigger inter-est in the country. Mongolian employees and engineers are more valued than ever and they help make Front Gate an attrac-tive proposition in the world of interior design. “Mongolia is a developing country and we are open to any partnership and collaboration,” adds Ms. Tsen-gelmaa. “In such a rapidly pro-gressing environment, Mongo-lian employees and engineers are becoming more valued, like international experts.”

front gate combines mongolian flare with modern style to create world-class environments

Front gate specializes in creating perfect living and working environments

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“We need MOre infrastructure, MOre fOreign investMent, MOre huMan capital, and tO WOrk tOgether” D. DAMB, President of Mongolian National Mining Association

“We Don’T hAve access tO the sea, yet We are next tO the biggest iMpOrter Of irOn Ore: china”

BUYANBAL DAMDiN, CEO of Zasag Chandmani Mines LLC

“Our drilling orgAniZATions need tO have sOMe partnerships Or cOOperatiOn With aMerican cOMpanies”

PROFESSOR TSEvEENjAv j., Executive Director of the Mongolian Drilling Association (MDA)

“MOngOlian engineers knOW the lOcal sOil better than all the Many Other highly skilled fOreign engineers”

BATZORig gANTUMUR, Executive Director of glogex

friendly investment policies and favorable geographic advantages, perhaps one of its more significant, yet of-ten overlooked strengths is that it is being run almost exclusively by an enterpris-ing and dynamic population of young leaders.

Only three years after his college graduation, Sukhbayar Batsaikhan and a few friends established Sod Gazar, a high-ly successful mining company with an average employee age of 23. He oversees a savvy team, which within just two years of operation, discovered highly coveted fluorite mines.

“Fluorite mines have not been discovered in Mongo-lia for over 20 years,” says Mr. Batsaikhan, who adds that Sod Gazar is also branching out into exploration works on rare metals, such as molybde-num and wolfram. The com-pany owns 32 special licenses for geological survey works, representing an area of nearly 4.68 million hectares.

The Mongolian min-ing industry rep-resents about 25% of the country’s

GDP, 60% of total industrial production, 90% of total ex-ports, and 40% of total state revenues. It is essentially the backbone of the Mongolian economy, and through mas-sive expansion, diversifica-tion, entrepreneurial part-nerships and a fair amount of growing pains, it has made significant transformations over the past 20 years.

Though Oyu Tolgi – the largest financial undertaking in Mongolia’s history, which is expected to account for 30% of the country’s GDP upon completion – is perhaps the country’s most famous mining project, Deputy Minister of Mining Mongolia Erdenebul-gan Oyun insists that there is much more to the Mongolian mining landscape.

“Oyu Tolgoi is just one proj-ect. Mongolia will never allow itself to be dependent on only

one project,” he says, reiterat-ing the diversity in scope and scale of projects currently be-ing carried out.

As the proud teacher and mentor to several mining professionals who have gone on to work abroad, Profes-sor Tseveenjav J, Executive Director of the Mongolian Drilling Association (MDA), is well aware of the benefits of cross-cultural experience in the field.

“I’m very glad that drill-ing companies from Austra-lia, Russia, China and other western companies are com-ing to Mongolia and our lo-cal companies are learning from them. Our young drill-ers are being trained. Now young Mongolian drillers work not only in Mongolia, but also abroad.”

As the Mongolian mining industry grows, says D. Damb, President of the Mongolian National Mining Associa-tion, finding the right balance naturally becomes of greater

concern. “We have to find so-lutions for being successful, we need more infrastructure, more foreign investment, more human capital, more environmental responsibility and we need to work together to keep making profitable business for both national and international players,” he says.

The mining secTor’s yOung blOOd

Though the Mongolian min-ing sector stands out for its untapped potential, foreign-

100% Mongolian mining companiesyoung leaders, new ideas, international perspective. There is much more than oyu Tolgoi or coal in mongolia and new generations of entrepreneurs are leading the change

Another 100% Mongolian owned company that has met near overnight success is Glogex. Established in 2008, it has already been given the title of “Best mining consult-ing company in the country” by the Minister of Mining.

“Our company’s main pur-pose is very simple,” says the company’s Executive Direc-tor, Batzorig Gantumur. “To solve issues for both local and foreign mining opera-tors in Mongolia on how to extract resources with mini-mal waste, and in a way that is environmentally friendly and economically sound.” To this aim, Mr. Gantumur explains that the company is care-ful to use efficient technol-ogy and to maintain a balance between project profitabil-ity and economic and social benefit to Mongolia.

Making waves in the do-main of iron ore is Zasag Chandmani Mines. Buyan-bal Damdin, the company’s 35-year-old CEO, explains

that water is critical to the mining process, especially in the dry region of the Gobi area where most of its mines are located. “We are reusing the water in our mines up to 90% and this is the highest rate in the country,” says Mr. Damdin.

In a bid to maximize its iron ore processing output, the company is transitioning from a dry to a wet produc-tion method that will boost the enrichment level of its products to more than 65%. Two new processing plants financed with the help of foreign investment will also increase the company’s abil-ity to export more to its vora-cious neighbor and consum-er of iron ore, China.

A very politically stable democracy with a well-edu-cated and industrious young workforce committed to cap-italizing on its rich natural re-sources in the most sustain-able way possible, Mongolia presents a unique opportu-nity for investment.

“We are planning tO becOMe the shOrtest transit line cOuntry that cOnnects asia and eurOpe”

MR. BATkHUU, Head of the Parliamentary Working group on Transit

“the uniqueness Of MOngOlians is that they are fast learners, Which is a huge advantage”

BANZRAgCH TS, general Director of Mongolian National Diamond Drilling LLC (MNDD)

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Mining and trade to benefit from improved connectivityit is beneficial for mongolia to distribute its mining resources through both road and railway infrastructures and the government is committed to meet the expectations generated in the international arena

In Southern Mongolia – sit-uated in the southern Gobi desert just 250km from the Chinese border – lies Tavan Tolgoi, one of the world’s largest untapped coking and thermal coal deposits.

Tavan Tolgoi has total es-timated reserves of 7.4 bil-lion tonnes, one quarter of which is high quality coking coal, and Mongolia’s larg-est state owned coal miner – Erdenes TT – has been in charge of developing the huge deposit’s largest sec-tion, Tsankhi.

Although Erdenes TT has already exported more than 900,000 tons of coal so far this year from its two pits in East and West Tsankhi (towards its target of 10 mil-lion tons in 2014), like the rest of coal mining industry in Mongolia, the company is having to face up to the cur-rent challenging climate.

“Over the last 2 years, the price of coal has been de-creasing,” explains CEO of Erdenes TT, Batsuuri Yaich-il. “However, we are still striving to overcome this difficulty. We are sure that we are quite competitive be-cause our mine is very close to China, who is the biggest coal importer and largest

consumer. Secondly, our mines are open pit mining, which means our extraction costs are lower.”

However, the main chal-lenge for Mongolian coal mining is that the Tavan Tolgoi area has lacked the infrastructure needed to economically deliver coal to its markets.

“At the same time, we cur-rently lack a wash plant,” says Mr. Batsuuri. “The company exports raw coal and there is no such benchmark price for our coal in the interna-tional coal market, thus, we are not able to sell our coal at higher prices. More than 20% of our total expenses are related to transport, and it is very expensive to transport by trucks. That is why we are working to solve these two issues.”

Indeed the company has recently signed an agreement with the China’s

Shenhua to build a 19km cross border railway,

while Mongolian Railways has already started work on a

track to connect to the deposit to

the Chinese rail network.

Erdenes TT also has plans in the pipeline to construct a $550 million coal-washing plant (which will eliminate ash, soil and rock to produce a longer lasting, cleaner and more valuable coal) with the help of foreign investors.

“We are working with Chinese, Korean, Japanese and US investors on financ-ing, and several companies have expressed their inter-est to work with us to fund our projects,” reveals Mr. Batsuuri.

And while a deal is yet to be struck, the CEO is supremely confident that Erdenes TT will get the help it needs thanks to the lure of Mongolia’s lucrative re-sources, and that all Mongo-lians will stand to benfit.

“It is inevitable that we’ll have foreign investment to complete this project. We already have interested par-ties, with whom we are hav-ing negotiations. In the com-ing years, we will succeed, complete our project, and we will become one of the biggest coal producers. ETT is a very important company for Mongolia’s future devel-opment. For example, the citizens of Mongolia own 20 percent of the shares, and they hold high expectations for our project. We are do-ing our best to ensure that the project is a success.”

Confidence in the face of coal mining challenges With mongolia finally starting to building better infrastructure in order to boost its coal exports, state-owned mining company erdenes TT is confident that the foreign investment needed to complete its projects will soon come flooding in

BATSUURi YAiCHiL,CEO of Erdenes TT

Montruck is a 100% Mon-golian road, construction and mining machinery im-port company which now figures among Mongolia’s top 100 companies. Thanks in no small part to the savvy and foresight of the com-pany’s president, Ms. N. Uranchimeg, who was voted Mongolian businesswoman of the year in 2011, Mon-truck has always been a company very ahead of its time.

As the first company to sell heavy trucks in Mongolia, Montruck began importing road, construction and mining related machinery from China in 2001. “I got an idea that by entering the busi-ness of importing machinery related to the road and con-struction sector which is the key to the country’s develop-ment, I could contribute to my country’s development,” says Ms. Uranchimeg.

This idea also happened to be an excellent business op-portunity. At the time, Mon-golians knew very little about Chinese trucks, though just a decade later, nearly 60% of the mining machinery used in Mongolia is imported from China.

Ms. Uranchimeg is person-ally invested in seeing that the Mongolian mining and road sectors continue to flour-ish. In 2011, she took it upon herself to organize various companies in these sectors to petition the government for more support of home-grown companies in the face of foreign competitors.

“The government policy towards protecting national business companies from for-eign companies is weak,” she explains. “So there is always a

risk of being defeated by for-eign companies with better technology and greater financ-ing.” Her efforts were success-ful in garnering the attention of the government, which has since become more proactive in supporting the growth of national companies.

As it has grown, Montruck has also expanded into other

industries. “Our company’s operation is to supply ma-chinery essential to sectors including road construc-tion, construction and min-ing, geology, exploration and extraction,” says Ms. Uranchimeg, fully aware that this also comes with a

responsibility to develop other sectors. In 2012, in coopera-tion with the Ministry of Ag-riculture, Montruck imported over 8,400 trucks and opened agricultural machinery trade points in five provinces across western Mongolia.

“The agricultural sector of Mongolia has been develop-ing based on manual works. Our company’s main purpose is to import large numbers of agricultural machineries and operate 5 centers throughout Mongolia more actively.”

Engaged, socially respon-sible, and proudly Mongo-lian, Montruck is now open to offering foreign investors access to its many unused land and mining licenses for coal, gold, and fluorspar. It offers the prospect of prof-itable mining opportunities and access to land which ac-cording to Ms. Uranchimeg, wise investors may even use to develop five-star interna-tional chain hotels.

The engine of the mining and road sectorsengaged, socially responsible and proudly mongolian, montruck opens up doors to unexploited investment opportunities

“i’m Willing tO cOOperate With fOreign investOrs and cOMpanies Outside Of china in terMs Of quality technOlOgies and Machineries that are useful To PeoPle’s lives”

MS. N. URANCHiMEgPresident of Montruck

Located at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, Mongolia is very favorably positioned to become a transportation gateway and an efficient transit line allowing both Mongolian and foreign com-panies to safely, cost-effec-tively, and expediently ship goods and resources across the region.

As explained by Mr. Bat-khuu from the Parliamenta-ry Working Group on Trans-port at Mongolia’s Ministry of Transport, there are plans to make Mongolia the short-est transit line country that connects Asia and Europe. In terms of track, that means that the route from Europe through Asia via Mongolia would be 475 miles shorter than any other existing rail-way. Though this advantage would certainly benefit in-ternational trade by allowing cargo to be transferred much more quickly from producer to consumer, Mongolia’s already flourishing mining sector also stands to benefit from a more vitalized trans-portation system.

Mongolian mining com-panies such as Mongolian National Diamond Drilling (MNDD) and Absolute are well aware of the advantages that a more integrated trans-port system would bring to their business. With an eye on international expansion, MNDD in particular, has plans to tap the interna-tional market by cooperat-ing with international min-ing companies operating in Mongolia.

In the four years MNDD has been in business, it has drilled for materials and minerals as diverse as coal, gold, copper and uranium, depending on the request of the company it is work-ing with. “We are capable of executing world standard drilling whilst having a com-petitive price over other

companies. Our employees are fluent in English and able to handle the operation at the site without any lan-guage barrier,” says the com-pany’s General Director, Mr. Banzragch Ts.

Because it is not com-mon for U.S. companies to invest in Mongolian mining companies, Mr. Banzragch insists that the greatest op-portunity to work in the international market is by cooperating with interna-tional mining companies that operate in Mongolia.

“In the coming years, I see our company as an inter-nationally recognized com-pany,” he says. “Upon in-troducing the international standards into our daily operation and realizing the cost advantage, we will pen-etrate the market through other sectors.”

Engaged in the mining consultancy business since 2010, Absolute Mining is also a 100% Mongolian com-pany that has invested heav-ily in advanced technology for complete solutions re-garding all the commodities of the mining sector. Priding itself on extreme profession-alism, it is especially com-mitted to making strides in investigation, mine plan-ning, and mineral exploita-tion research.

“We are mobilizing all our power and resources to up-grade and improve the qual-ity of the Mongolian mining sector,” says the company’s General Director, Tsogt Tu-murkhuyag.

plans tO create an integrated transpOrt netWOrk Will help MOngOlia distribute its cOal, cOpper, irOn, petrOleuM and gOld

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As the booming economy brings in new ways of life, in particular the

sedentarization of the once nomadic population, mostly in and around Ulaanbaatar, the insurance market is set to grow accordingly.

The sector is still in the development stage. The first private insurance company, Mongol Daatgal, was set up in 1990. The same year, the Ministry of Finance was es-tablished as the supervisory body of the insurance mar-ket. The first law on insur-ance was enacted in 1997. In 2004, the Mongolian Insurers Association was established, followed two years later by the Financial Regulatory Commission. 2008 saw the creation of the first life insur-ance company and the same year, new amendments were added to the insurance law, in particular one requiring a minimum statutory capital of one billion tugriks ($545,000). More recently, in 2011, a law introduced compulsory in-surance for drivers.

According to 2012 data of the Insurance and Human De-velopment Fund (HDF), quot-ed by the local press, 555,000 people (out of a population of 2.9 million) were covered by a social insurance scheme, which includes pensions, so-cial welfare, health, workers’ compensation and unemploy-ment benefits, representing a 13.6% year-on-year rise.

More recent data from Mongolia’s Insurers Asso-ciation show that in 2013, 17 private insurance companies were operating, with total assets of 126.4 billion tugriks

($68.9 million). Assets have been steadily growing since 2008, when they totaled only 34.3 billion tugriks ($18.7 million).

But there is a lot of room for growth, as people’s stan-dard of living rise and become more western-like. Auto in-surance penetration is cur-rently less than five percent of the population. The new law on drivers insurance coupled with the growing number of vehicles should spur growth in this segment of the market. Indeed, there were almost 385,000 vehicles registered as of 2013, with an average an-nual growth rate of 15% since 2010, according to the Mon-

golian Insurers Association. Insurers also foresee po-

tential in the home insurance segment, as people settle down in urban areas in and around the capital. The pen-etration rate in this segment is similar, at 5%.

Another important seg-ment, in a country where herding has been the tradi-tional livelihood, is insurance in livestock. The Insurers Association notes that live-stock stood at 45.1 million in 2013 but that only 3.5% of the livestock is covered. A pi-lot scheme was launched in 2009 to protect farmers from the financial consequences of the loss of herds, in par-ticular during the harsh win-ters known here as dzuds. The Index-based Livestock Insurance Project is a World Bank-backed micro-insur-ance program that is increas-ingly successful.

The labor insurance seg-ment also has a very promis-ing potential, in large part due to the expansion of the mining sector, which employs more than 45,000 people (according to 2011 figures). With a num-ber of foreign firms operating in Mongolia, there’s also a rela-tively large expatriate commu-nity and some insurers, such as Mandal Insurance, have already launched specific ser-vices for this public.

Such a young industry with so much potential is surely a carrot to potential investors, and Minister of Finance Dr. Chultem Ulaan says: “I invite all international investors to come to Mon-golia and see for themselves all the many opportunities awaiting them here.”

The insurance sub-sector: a carrot to potential investorsgovernment programs aim to expand basic insurance coverage, as economic growth increase boosted by mineral resources revenues. The insurance subsector has a huge potential for being explored and developed by foreign investors

“i invite all internatiOnal investOrs tO cOMe tO MOngOlia and see fOr theMselves all the Many OppOrtunities aWaiting theM here”

DR. CHULTEM ULAAN, Minister of Finance

Five years of huge growth for pioneering insurerThe first private insurance company in Mongolia, Ard Daatgal launched operations in 1994 and dramatic levels of growth in recent years have made it today one of the lead-ing non-life insurance enter-prises in the country. In 2008, the 15-year-old company em-ployed just six people and had no branches outside its head office in Ulaanbaatar. It had a premium income of around 300 million MNT ($161,000) and with total assets of some 1.7 billion MNT. Today it is the number three company in the sector, with 28 branches na-tionwide and employing more than 100 people. Its premium income has now topped 10 bil-lion MNT and its assets have rocketed to 9 billion MNT.

According to D. Chuluunt-setseg, CEO of Ard Daatgal In-surance Company since 2008, the introduction of compulsory insurance laws and the rise in personal wealth have helped boost demand and fuel the company’s exponential growth. She also expects Mongolia’s booming mining industry to help keep this momentum for insurance into the foreseeable

future, especially as many play-ers are hopeful that Mongolia’s current premiums-to-GDP ratio of around 0.4% can reach figures closer to 6-8%.

In 2004 Ard Daatgal pio-neered the industry’s first joint venture when it partnered up with the Wittington Group of the U.K. Its merger and acqui-sition of Grand Insurance in May 2011 represented another

first for both the company and the Mongo-lian insurance sector. Mrs. Chuluuntset-seg believes that their door will be open to further partner-ships with large foreign insurers

once the market has become more developed and greater regulation has been established.

“When the market has grown quite mature then of course the big players will come in, and in this situation we can discuss joint ventures together with the foreign companies,” she says. “This kind of process is going on in the auditing market. We can see the big four have already come in and taken over the small companies by buying or acquiring them, or entering joint ventures. Right now it is too early to discuss it. And why aren’t the big companies coming into the market? It is because there is also another way to come into our market: there is reinsurance – a sector in which Ard Daatgal excels.”

D. Chuluuntsetseg, CEO of Ard Daatgal insurance Company

insurance specialist Ard Daatgal insurance company has undergone exponential expansion in recent years and is targeting the country’s hugely untapped retail sector

One company that has wit-nessed the evolution of the Mongolian insurance sector from the very beginning is Soyombo Insurance.

Soyombo, the country’s first and oldest insurance company, has been at the heart of the expansion of a sector that has grown simul-taneously with Mongolia’s booming economy.

“Our economy is growing rapidly and following this the insurance sector is also keep-ing its pace together with other environments such as IT – which has been facilitat-ing the speed of information and made it accessible for the public to share and un-derstand the benefits of the insurance products,” says Mr. Battulga, CEO of Soyombo, who has also set up an NGO to educate the public about the sector.

“The last two years we have succeeded in leading the market with our growth,” he continues. “We have the ex-pertise, the connections and the coverage of the whole nation with our 29 branches operating as of today, and

most importantly our strong management team.”

With the insurance in-dustry in Mongolia still very much in its infancy – as much of the legal framework continues to be introduced – Mr. Battulga still believes there is “much room for im-provement.”

While agriculture – one of the country’s most impor-tant industries – currently remains without cover due to the high risk of Mongolia’s harsh climate under which it operates, Soyombo provides other traditional services such as property and driver’s

reliability insurance.“Tourism in Mongolia has

lots of opportunity,” says Mr. Battulga. “We have reinsur-ance for Mongolian tourists going abroad and tourists who are coming to Mongolia.

“Our company also offers health insurance and also for the mining sector we have insurance. We can provide transportation insurance all around the globe as well as in Mongolia.”

Meanwhile, Soyombo has recently joined forces with American based company, Hannover Re, strenthening their position in the market.

“From all the companies who expressed their inter-est in working in Mongolia, Hannover Re was excep-tional in their enthusiasm. This works in our favor as Hannover Re reinsures our company and as long as there is no extreme catastro-phe, all of our risk is covered by our reinsurer. Knowing we are insured gives assur-ance to our clients. We al-ready extended this year’s contract and will continue it in the future.”

Growing with the insurance market over the last two years, soyombo insurance have led the market in terms of growth, increasing its range of services and teaming up with Us firm hannover re.

As one of Mongolia’s oldest insurance companies, Bodi Insurance is one of the lead-ers in the country’s fledgling sector.

Founded in 1995, the firm’s steadily growing number of customers and increasingly impressive financial per-formance over the past two decades has seen it scoop the Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce’s top prize for “Best National Insurer” multiple times over recent years; indicative of its expanding operations and mounting prestige.

“What makes us advanta-geous from them is we have close ties with financial insti-tutions,” explains Mr. Otgon-bayar, the CEO of Bodi.

“Our shareholder is Lu-vsanvandan Bold who is the Minister of Foreign Affairs and our General Director is also a director of Golomt Bank and the Swedish Am-bassador (to Mongolia). Many of the financial advi-sors also come from Swe-den which means our hu-man resource is strong, and at the same time we hire local employees and train them abroad which creates a strong workforce that under-stands the local situation.”

“Secondly, our products vary on many aspects,” he continues. “All the products

that we provide are finished to perfection, and even the gifts we provide to our cli-ents are well thought.

“We have mass clients from the suburbs and the presents we give them are practical in their life. For our herder clients we pro-vide them with first aid kits and lights which charges by hand and solar. So every-thing we provide for our clients considers their need and satisfies them.”

Aside from such gifts that the company gives to their customers – many of which come from the rural areas of the country – Bodi is trying to further educate Mongo-lian citizens about the im-portance of having an insur-ance policy.

“The new Mongolia is turning into a settled people with a modern way of living,” says Mr. Otgonbayar in refer-ence to the country’s trans-formation from its largely nomadic tradition, to a more urbanized nation with a glo-balised economy.

“Nomadic people are not interested in insurance, but when there is a greater con-

centration of people then the situation of risk arises, so even in insurance sector we are working based on this fact.

“Our company is reaching the vast lands of Mongolian public with its 600 repre-sentatives situated in the 21 aimags and we seek to be the leader in the commer-cial sector.”

Meanwhile, as domestic demand for insurance con-tinues to develop, the indus-try look towards reaching foreign clients as well.

“One of the advantages about Bodi is that we cooper-ate with the organization In-ternational SOS (the world’s leading medical and travel security services company), and we are the only company who is providing 1 million dollar insurance to travelers who are going abroad. This is the highest reimbursement rate in Mongolia,” says Mr. Otgonbayar.

“We also provide insur-ance cover that protects customers in Mongolia, and if in need of urgent treat-ment we will send a helicop-ter and send the patient to their country. I consider this insurance as the biggest dis-tinctiveness from any other companies here, so I would like to proudly state that if you are planning to come to Mongolia we are the stron-gest and most experienced in dealing with tourists.”

Insuring a developing MongoliaBodi insurance look to raise awareness about the importance of insurance in the rap-idly developing country, as well as reach out to tourists visiting the country.

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The switzerland of Asia is at its investment turning point. mongolia’s mineral resources boom has slowed down; however, 80% of its territory remains unexplored and the revenues from mining are allowing for the economic diversification that the country needs, upgrading education, developing infrastructure and encouraging social programs.

mongolia is a role model of democracy in the region and an international peacekeeper. The mongolian Armed forces participate in Un opera-tions, such as in south sudan, as well as nATo’s Partnership for Peace program in Afghanistan, for example.

The government has reviewed its foreign investment policy and a new investment law was adopted by the Parliament on the 3rd of october, 2013 to cap-italize on the urgent need of funds and investment to ensure the sustainable growth of the country.

The oyu Tolgoi mine is the largest financial under-taking in mongolia’s history and is expected to account for more than 30% of the country’s gDP

The country is branding itself as the investment gateway of continental Asia – a horse between two giants with tremendous logistics advantages.

mongolia recently signed in new york an agree-ment on transparency in matters related to interna-tional trade and investment.

6 THINGS YOU SHOULD kNOW ABOUT MONGOLIA

Modern Ger is one of the leading manufacturers of the ger, or yurt as it is known in other places, and is blending 3,000 years of tradition with cutting-edge modern design. Nomads across Central Asia are well used to the ecologi-cal living space but now the UNESCO-listed structure can be seen beyond the boundar-ies of Central Asia.

“We have a really big respon-sibility in order to protect and at the same time let the world know what the Mongolian ger is,” says Altantuya Sanduijav, Director General of Modern Ger, and adds: “It’s critical to keep an efficient size and structure from ancient tradi-tion, but at the same time we

would like to add some details to make it look more modern.”

The company, which start-ed business in 2002, now ships a container abroad every two to three months. The ger, which has a lifespan of be-tween 50 and 100 years, may be an ancient tradition but it is still loved today. “The Mon-golian ger is one of the most profound and greatest con-tributions to Mongolian so-ciety and we are really proud of our ger way of living,” says Ms. Sanduijav. “It is one of the most eco-friendly, ecological housing which exists nowa-days in the entire world.”

The company’s minute detail in the design and con-struction of the ger has at-tracted the interested of a number of partners, especial-ly in Europe and in particular France. Modern Ger is not looking to stop there.

“The Mongolian ger is ecological and environmen-tally friendly, so of course it is beneficial and good for the clients’ health wherever they are living,” adds Ms. Sandui-jav. “So whoever we partner with, we would like to wel-come them to participate in delivering this ecological housing to the world.”

Known as ‘The Land of the Eternal Blue Sky’ thanks to be-ing soaked in sun

for two-thirds of the year, Mongolia has become a big hit on the ‘to-visit list’ of tourists keen to explore its rich history and stunning scenery since its democratic revolution in 1990.

With just under 3 million Mongolians populated in 972,000 square miles, and 45% living in the capital Ulaanbaatar, Mother Na-ture has truly been left to live among one of the old-est civilizations on earth. This is the country’s en-during appeal, with nature

and the nomadic Mongo-lian people living hand-in-hand. Almost half live in ‘Gers’, portable habita-tions to allow the popula-tion freedom to move up to three times per year, as century-old traditions con-tinue to live on today.

‘Go Nomadic, Experience Mongolia’ is the country’s tourism slogan and it would be hard to resist the lure of attractions such as the huge Gobi Desert and breathtak-ing Khuvsgul Lake. “Once you discover Mongolia you will come back again,” says Ts. Oyungerel, Mongolia’s Minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism. “We invite

American tourists to visit ‘The Land of the Eternal Blue Sky’.”

The world-famous Gobi is one of the country’s biggest pulls. Spanning over 800,000 square miles, it includes the impressive Gobi Gur-van Saikhan National Park, named after the mountain range that surrounds the east of the park, and some of the largest sand dunes in the country at Khongoryn Els – nicknamed the ‘sing-ing dunes’ due to the noise they make on a windy day. Camel rides and jeep excur-sions with local nomads are just some of the activities on offer to explore the desert.

Nomadic by natureAcross “The land of the eternal Blue sky”, nature and one of the oldest civilizations on earth continue to coexist hand-in-hand

With the Gobi to the south, the stunning Khuvs-gul Lake, the second-largest freshwater lake in Asia, sits to the north-west and is complemented by the sur-rounding mountain ranges, one of which is the Sayan range. The highest peak is the Burenkhaan that stands at 3,492 meters tall. Restau-rants offering traditional Mongolian cuisine, including mutton-based barbecue dish

khorkhog and the national drink airag, surround the water while a ferry offers the chance for stunning views of the surrounding scenery.

That stunning scenery has been left untouched since

the days of Ghengis Khan, Mongolia’s most famous son who united many of the Asian nomadic tribes to help form the Mongol Empire, which went on to become the largest con-tiguous empire in history after his demise.

Mongolia is steeped in such history and tourists can soak some of that up at the Winter Palace of Bogd Khan, the country’s eighth Living Buddha and last king. Situated in the capital, the palace has been turned into a museum and includes six temples that house some of the former king’s prized possessions

and Buddhist artwork. Some of the rich history of the country can be experi-enced here, as well as the Choiring Lama Museum, a Buddhist monastery also in Ulaanbaatar which used to be occupied by the broth-er of Bogd Khan, Choijin Lama Luvsankhaidav.

The popular Kharkho-rin Tsenkher hot spring and Khustain Nuruu Na-tional Park, which enjoys the Tuul River running through, provide more nat-ural habitats to be enjoyed by the growing number of tourists putting Monga-lia high up on their list of places to explore.

the Mongolian ger plays a key role in the Asian na-tion’s rich heritage but one company is ensuring the country’s famous moveable dwelling is being enjoyed around the world

The Mongolian ger

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