S.BOLD-ERDENE
Prime Minister N. Uchral yesterday (August 31, 2026) submitted the draft 2027 State Budget Law and related legislation to Parliament. One of the most notable features of next year’s budget is the inclusion, for the first time, of dividend income to be received by Mongolia from Oyu Tolgoi. The amount is expected to be at least MNT 3 trillion, or approximately USD 835 million.
In June 2026, the Government of Mongolia held negotiations with Rio Tinto. As a result of the negotiations, the interest rate on Oyu Tolgoi’s shareholder loans was reduced from SOFR + 6.5% to SOFR + 4%. Prime Minister N. Uchral had also announced that Mongolia would begin receiving dividends from Oyu Tolgoi within this year.
The expected amount of the dividend has now become clearer. Finance Minister Z. Mendsaikhan said today (September 1, 2026), “As a result of the negotiations with Rio Tinto, the dividend to be received from Oyu Tolgoi has been included in the 2027 State Budget. We have budgeted the dividend at a minimum of MNT 3 trillion. Of this, MNT 2 trillion is planned to be used to address pressing socio-economic and infrastructure issues, while MNT 1 trillion will be distributed to citizens through the Savings Fund and used for healthcare, education and housing mortgage loans. The relevant draft legislation has been submitted to Parliament.”
Parliament adopted the Law on the National Wealth Fund in April 2024. Under the law, the National Wealth Fund consists of three specialized funds: the Future Heritage Fund, the Savings Fund and the Development Fund. The Savings Fund accumulates dividend income attributable to the state from state-owned and state-participated legal entities operating in the mining and mineral processing sectors and allocates the funds to individual accounts for every citizen. Citizens may use their allocated funds only for healthcare, education and housing mortgage purposes.
As of August 28, 2026, a total of MNT 1,396.7 billion, or approximately USD 388.5 million, had accumulated in the Savings Fund. In 2027, the Government expects to collect MNT 1,468.0 billion, or around USD 408 million, in dividends from state-owned mining companies. Of this amount, MNT 1 trillion is expected to come from Oyu Tolgoi dividends.
