Ethiopia’s Hard Currency Shortage Will Last Many More Years: PM Abiy

BY REUTERS Ethiopia’s new prime minister said on Monday that a foreign exchange shortage will last for years and more cooperation with the private sector is essential to solve it, state television reported. Abiy Ahmed, who was sworn in on April 2, addressed the local business community at a session of more than two hours […]

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IMF Chief to Visit Ethiopia as Hard Currency Crunch Harming Economy

BY ENGIDU WOLDE | ESAT NEWS Shortage of foreign currency, dwindling export trade and foreign investment are having a crippling effect on the country’s economy at a time when IMF’s director is expected to pay a working visit to Ethiopia. According to a well-placed source, the foreign currency reserve in the coffers is only about […]

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Why the Arrest of Saudi Arabia’s 2nd Richest Man is Causing Shockwaves in Ethiopia

Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al-Amoudi owns 4.7% of Ethiopia’s economy and employs 14% of its private workforce BY ROGER BAIRD | IBTIMES Saudi Arabia has arrested the country’s second richest man, Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al-Amoudi, as part of a wide-ranging ‘anti-corruption’ drive . The specific charges against the 71-year-old Ethiopian-born billionaire, who holds Saudi citizenship are […]

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Shortage of Hard Currency Crippling Ethiopia’s Economy: Governor

A declining export, acute shortage of hard currency, an insatiable demand for imports, widening trade deficit and a crushing foreign debt of $40b causing the economy to nosedive. BY ESAT NEWS The serious shortage in foreign currency has stagnated the economy, the Governor of the Ethiopian National Bank says, as the country’s telecom fails to […]

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Ethiopia President Says Country is Broke

A declining export, acute shortage of hard currency, an insatiable demand for imports, widening trade deficit and a crushing foreign debt. Ethiopia’s economy is heading to a crisis. BY ESAT NEWS Ethiopia will devalue its currency to attract foreign investment and close the gap in foreign trade, President Mulatu Teshome said at the opening of […]

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Official: UN Emergency Food Appeals Tarnish Ethiopia’s Image

By ESAT News, The Ethiopian government has stopped the fundraising campaign by UN agencies to help millions of Ethiopians facing famine, according to ESAT’s sources from Addis Ababa. The sources said the Special Envoy for the Prime Minister, Ambassador Berhane Gebrekiristos has asked the Addis Ababa representative of the United Nations Office for the Coordination […]

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Chinese PetroTrans Quits Ethiopian Oil and Gas Exploration

By TesfaNews, The number of foreign mining and exploration companies that cut and pack their investment in Ethiopia are growing in recent months citing different reasons. Companies like Maxus and ZPEG, that were working on oil and gas explorations in the Ogden region have pulled entirely out of the country following the killing of dozens […]

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Ethiopia’s External Debt Exceeds US$12 Billion

By TesfaNews, A report from the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MOFED) indicates that the country’s runaway external debt has increased dramatically from the total and official 134 billion birr (US$8b) at the end of June last year to 200 billion birr (US$12). The document also reveals, the government’s internal debt has also exceeds well beyond […]

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