Mongolia and International Monetary Fund agree to bailout deal

iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — In an attempt to climb out of intense debt, Mongolia has reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a $5.5 billion dollar bailout package.

Yahoo! News reports its main export, copper, has dropped in price by more than 50 percent over the past five years, and the development of mining the sovereign state’s wealth of natural resources has been delayed. Slowing growth in China, the country’s primary customer, has also contributed to the debt according to Yahoo! News.

Mongolia’s national statistics office lists the economy growing at 1.0 percent in 2016 while the debt skyrocket 3.7 trillion tugrik ($1.5 billion).

Yahoo! News additionally reports Koshy Mathai, the IMF’s Asia-Pacific deputy division chief, says the bailout will “restore economic stability and debt sustainability as well as to create the conditions for strong, sustainable, and inclusive growth, while protecting the most vulnerable citizens.”

Mongolia has a $580 million bond payment due in March and will receive a $440 million loan over the next three years.

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