Mongolia’s GDP in the first three quarters reached 1.76 billion USD which is 2.2 percent fall compared to the same period of last year. Total industrial output reached 1138.1 billion MNT in the first three quarters of the year 2009. This is 10.5 percent decrease against the previous year’s statistics. 35 percent decrease of output of main products such as copper, zinc and gold mainly contributed to industrial output fall.

Mongolia trades with 111 countries, and its total external trade turnover in the first nine months of 2009 reached USD2,778.1 million, USD1,605.9 million or 36.6 percent less than in the corresponding period last year. The deficit of USD190.5 million was 2.4 times less than in the same period in 2008.

Altogether 17.4 million tons of freight and 162.7 million passengers were carried by all types of transport in the first nine months of 2009. Comparison with the corresponding period last year shows the volume of freight fell by 2.8 percent, while the number of passengers rose by 3.9 percent. The airlines carried 59,600 fewer people while the number of people traveling by road showed a large increase.

Mongolia's Gross Domestic Product in the first three quarters reached about USD1.76 billion, down 2.2 percent compared with the same period last year.

Asked to comment on the merger of banks, J.Unenbat, a former President of Mongolbank and now a teacher at the Institute of Economics, has said a merger as such had little significance but the really important thing is to realize why they merged. There can be no complaint if two or more banks come together to gain access to more liquidity, or to cut costs. “In other words, if 1+1=3 it is good. But if 1+1=2 and the banks merged only to look bigger, it is of no help to the economy,” he explained.