Source: Reuters                            Date: 31 March, 2011

The highly anticipated initial public offering by Mongolia's Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi will take place at the end of 2011 or the first quarter of 2012, a top Government official said last week. The IPO is a key step for impoverished Mongolia to raise funds and develop its massive mining resources, with fast-growing nations such as China, India and Korea clamoring for more minerals.

The Mongolian government could announce the listing venue for the IPO by as early as June. The IPO is estimated by bankers to be in a range of USD1.5-5 billion, Mr. B. Enebish, chief executive of state-owned Erdenes MGL, said in an interview on the sidelines of the Mines and Money conference in Hong Kong. "Consultation on the stock exchange will be done with the banks after discussions with the Hong Kong and the London stock exchanges," he added. "We need to see which will be more beneficial. There are many issues."

Mr. Enebish declined to comment on the potential size of the IPO, saying, "It's a little early to talk about the size of the offering, but we have high expectation on that." The deal would also be a boon for Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Deutsche Bank AG, BNP Paribas SA and Macquarie Group Ltd, which have been short-listed to manage the offering.