Mongolian Matters: Watching Elbegdorj on Bloomberg made me a bit puzzled. Why was he telling several times, basically begging, how he wanted investors to not “close the door”? Wasn’t it the investors that should be begging the new president? But then i recalled the buzz around town. The buzz said: If nothing would happen before Naadam, the whole deal would be off.
So it might be true. The president is pressured by the foreign investors to get the deal in this session of parliament. But Elbegdorj only just comes in and wants to put his mark on the deal. “An equity share is not a good proposal,” he said in the interview. Indicating he want to change some basic rules of the game. This leaves him between a rock and a hard place. He came at the right in time to be able to be part of the deal, but it seems the choice is a deal he doesn't like or no deal at all. But it seems he doesn't want neither: He is asking the investors to hang on and give him time to get the deal he wants. "Please, do not close the door"
So if indeed the hard deadline is for July 10, what will happen if there is no deal struck? Will Ivanhoe Mines (TSX:IVN) leave? Will Rio Tinto (NYSE:RTP) back off? The future is unsure, but it looks like we will know a lot more when the horses start racing and the wrestlers are slapping their thighs on Mongolia’s national Naadam holiday on July 11th.