Mongolian parliament passes resolution to develop large coal mine
ULAN BATOR, Jul 07, 2010 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Parliament on Wednesday authorized the Mongolian government to raise funds abroad through Initial Public Offerings to finance the development of a large coking coal mine in the Gobi desert.
According to the resolution, the government is to set up a state-owned company that will develop the Tavan Tolgoi coal mine. About 10 percent of the company's shares are to be given to the Mongolian public and 10 percent is to be sold to Mongolian businesses.
Thirty percent of the shares are to be used to raise funds on overseas stock exchanges while 50 percent will be retained by the government, which plans to select international mining companies as operators.
A number of international consortiums and companies such as Chinese Shenhua Energy, Peabody Energy of the United States, and Australian BHP Billiton are bidding for the rights to develop the mine that contains more than 6 billion tons of coal.
Zorigt Dashdorj, the minister of minerals, said the government is aiming to raise about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars
through IPOs.
A total of 88.7 percent of the 55 lawmakers present at Wednesday's debate approved the resolution. However, some civic groups opposed the resolution. Former President Enkhbayar Nambar said "Tavan Tolgoi should be owned and retained by the Mongolian people 100 percent."
Copyright 2010 XINHUA NEWS AGENCY
According to the resolution, the government is to set up a state-owned company that will develop the Tavan Tolgoi coal mine. About 10 percent of the company's shares are to be given to the Mongolian public and 10 percent is to be sold to Mongolian businesses.
Thirty percent of the shares are to be used to raise funds on overseas stock exchanges while 50 percent will be retained by the government, which plans to select international mining companies as operators.
A number of international consortiums and companies such as Chinese Shenhua Energy, Peabody Energy of the United States, and Australian BHP Billiton are bidding for the rights to develop the mine that contains more than 6 billion tons of coal.
Zorigt Dashdorj, the minister of minerals, said the government is aiming to raise about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars
through IPOs.
A total of 88.7 percent of the 55 lawmakers present at Wednesday's debate approved the resolution. However, some civic groups opposed the resolution. Former President Enkhbayar Nambar said "Tavan Tolgoi should be owned and retained by the Mongolian people 100 percent."
Copyright 2010 XINHUA NEWS AGENCY
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