"STATE WILL SETTLE DEBT OF ERDENES TAVAN TOLGOI COMPANY"

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The state of Mongolia intends to settle a debt of the "Erdenes Tavantolgoi" state-owned company to the Aluminum Corporation of China Limited (Chalco), and talks have launched to establish a new agreement. The Minister of Economic Development N.Batbayar said it Wednesday. The Erdenes TT's debt has reached USD 500 million, therefore the state is to establish a contract with another company for a term of 15-20 years at least after having liquidated the debt by making a short-term financing. "It is necessary to set the coal's price at a market price of this or that time and to take the money in advance as the payment for a long-term contract, for example, if to make a 15-year contract on exporting three million tons of washed coal a year, we can take one billion dollars," the explained. The Erdenes TT company had requested the government to give it a USD 500 million loan from revenues of the Chingis bonds, but "the government has not decide yet from which financial source these money should be issued." By the contract established in 2011, the Erdenes TT company agreed with the Chalco to export coal with a price of USD 70 per ton. That time the border price was one hundred US dollars. B.Khuder