Mongolian Mining Corporation's debt restructuring talks with its creditors are progressing well and a deal could be reached before the end of the year, the country's Vice Minister Badamsuren Khookhor said on Monday. Hong Kong-listed Mongolian Mining Corp has been in default after missing a coupon payment in March on its $600 million 2017 issue.
"Progress has been quite successful for the moment," Badamsuren told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of an investment conference in London. "I hope negotiations can be done by the end of the year." The company's bond, due to mature in March, has traded at distressed levels of around 15 cents in the dollar in February, though has recovered in recent weeks to just over 50 cents, according to data from Reuters.
The Mongolian Mining Corp owns and operates two open-pit coking coal mines in the country's Southern Gobi province. Mongolia's best economic hope is its mining sector as commodities, especially coal, have rallied following last year's price rout, which hit Mongolia very hard.
"The commodity price fall ... has shown some negative effects to the Mongolian economy, and all other mineral extracting countries are facing similar problems," he said, speaking through a translator. Another major player is the Erdenet Mining Corporation, which delivers around 530,000 tonnes of copper concentrate per year, its website says. It faces high court action in London over unpaid debts.
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