AKIPRESS.COM - Mongolia is looking to take the plunge into the international bond markets for the first time in just over three years. The landlocked mining-focused economy has got a number of Western banks on board to arrange investor meetings next week, reports Financial Times.

Mongolia last tapped dollar bond markets in late 2012, offering $1.5 bln in debt that earned the moniker "Genghis bonds". At the time, it managed to borrow at a lower yield than Spain. Now, the yields stand at 8.64 percent, up from 4.5 percent as recently as May.

Sentiment towards emerging markets has been heading rapidly south over the last 12 months amid a U.S. rate rise, slowing growth and a commodities rout, which has certainly done no favors for Mongolia, where mining accounts for about a fifth of GDP.

The cost of borrowing in dollars for developing countries has jumped over the last year, and any looking to issue bonds face a potentially tricky task getting investors on board.