ULAN BATOR, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Standard & Poor's (S&P) Global Ratings has affirmed its 'B' long- and short-term sovereign credit ratings for Mongolia, the country's Finance Minister Chimed Khurelbaatar said Thursday, citing the agency's report.
In its report, the rating agency said that its outlook reflects the expectation that the economic shock from COVID-19 pandemic will be temporary and that economic growth will rebound over the next 12 months, leading to a stabilization in Mongolia's external, fiscal and debt metrics.
"Mongolia's commodity-oriented economy is experiencing a considerable slowdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but we expect growth to rebound strongly over the coming years, alongside China's economic recovery," the agency said.
According to the S&P Global Ratings, the Mongolian government is expected to resume its fiscal consolidation efforts once the global economy begins to recover.
The agency forecasts the Mongolian economy will contract by 1 percent in 2020, although growth will rebound to 8.5 percent in 2021 as activity resumes and mineral production improves. Enditem
