Page | 46Investment
Mongolia’s policies generally favor foreign investment, although
some laws passed in 2009 by the Mongolian parliament
regarding investor rights may have a chilling effect on future
investment.^247 In recent years, most of Mongolia’s foreign direct
investment has been toward mining, involving projects that
require a great deal of infrastructure investment. One of the
biggest of these foreign-financed mining developments is the
Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine, jointly owned by Ivanhoe Mines
of Canada and the English/Australian multinational Rio Tinto.
The Government of Mongolia holds a 34% interest in this mine,
which is expected to cost more than USD 7 billion to fully
develop.^248 Planned future construction projects associated with
mining include power plants, coal washing plants, oil refineries,
and a new rail link to Russia, where Mongolian minerals and
other products can be transported to Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.^249
(^247) U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar Mongolia, “2010 Mongolia Investment Climate Statement,” 15 January
2010, 3–6,
http://mongolia.usembassy.gov/root/media/pdf/2010-mongolia-investment-climate-
statement.pdf
(^248) U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar Mongolia, “2010 Mongolia Investment Climate Statement,” 15 January
2010, 5, http://mongolia.usembassy.gov/root/media/pdf/2010-mongolia-investment-climate-statement.pdf
(^249) Michael Kohn, “Mongolia Targets Global Mining Role as Investments Soar,” BBC News, 20 April
2011, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13078336