ULAN BATOR, Dec.24 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia's central bank said on Thursday that it has purchased a total of 22 tons of precious metals, most of them gold, since the beginning of this year from legal entities and individuals.
This marks an increase of 6.8 tons over the same period last year, the Bank of Mongolia said.
The bank has been taking measures to ease the procedure of trading precious metals for businesses and individuals by issuing licenses, establishing its new branches in some provinces, and making electronic transitions in certain services.
Central banks across the world typically hold gold as part of their foreign exchange reserves for its historic long-term returns and high liquidity.
Mongolia's forex reserves stood at 3.7 billion U.S. dollars at the end of October. The central bank aims to increase the reserves to at least 6.5 billion dollars in the medium term. Enditem
