Mongolia's President Calls for Oyu Tolgoi Dividends to Be Paid Directly Into Citizens' Accounts
Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh on November 3 summoned Prime Minister N. Uchral and Minister of Finance Z. Mendsaikhan to issue directives on how dividends from the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold project should be distributed. Oyu Tolgoi is Mongolia's largest mining project, and the dividends are expected to be received in 2027. The president called for a share of the benefits generated from the country's natural resources to be transferred directly into citizens' personal accounts as soon as the funds are received.
Khurelsukh said he had reviewed the feedback submitted through the D.Parliament platform: more than 100,000 citizens cast votes, with the majority expressing a preference for Oyu Tolgoi dividends to be deposited directly into their personal accounts. "I believe it is important to transfer a share of the benefits generated from our natural resources directly into citizens' accounts as soon as the funds are received," he said.
He directed the government to establish the necessary legal and regulatory framework governing when and how such transfers will be made, and said particular attention should be given to ensuring that the MNT 3 trillion allocated for this purpose is transferred to citizens' accounts as soon as the funds become available. Ensuring that every citizen receives a share of the benefits of the country's natural wealth, he said, is a decision that responds to the needs of the current situation.
Oyu Tolgoi, in Mongolia's South Gobi region, is owned 66 percent by Rio Tinto and 34 percent by the Mongolian government through Erdenes Oyu Tolgoi. The government and Rio Tinto amended the shareholders' agreement in September 2026: the interest rate on shareholder loans was reduced, the parties agreed that Oyu Tolgoi will distribute dividends from 2027, and a working group has been established to determine the terms and conditions of distribution.
Mongolia's draft 2027 budget already books Oyu Tolgoi dividend income of at least MNT 3 trillion, roughly US$835 million. In October the government consulted the public on how the money should be used, proposing at the time that MNT 2 trillion go to development projects and MNT 1 trillion to the Savings Fund of the National Wealth Fund; the finance minister said then that existing legislation did not provide for distributing the dividends to individuals in cash. The president's statement reopens the question of how the money will be allocated, and the legal framework he called for has yet to be built.
(Source: Office of the President of Mongolia)
Source: Office of the President of Mongolia
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 奥尤陶勒盖矿区实景，Wikimedia Commons，公共领域
