[ad_1]
Half-year receipts show a decrease of 12 pc
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCATD), in its Investment Trends Monitor report published this week, indicated that Ethiopia remains relatively stable attracting USD 1.1 billion in inflows of Foreign Direct Investment during the first half of 2020.
The report highlighted that while Sub-Saharan Africa has seen a 21 percent decline, estimated at USD 12 billion in value, Ethiopia has seen only a 12 percent decline ensuring an inflow of USD 1.1 billion. UNCTAD stated that China was a key source of foreign investment.
In her recent press, Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) Commissioner Lelise Neme told reporters that during the first quarter of the current Ethiopian fiscal year, there were some 36 FDI projects that raised $ 500 million in FDI. . The commissioner stressed that the declared value represents a decrease of 20 percent with respect to the USD 700 million forecast for the reported fiscal year.
Furthermore, foreign projects have added 3,800 new jobs. Some 10,864 jobs have also been secured for foreign companies operating in industrial parks. However, the target number of jobs was set at 20,500, indicating an achievement of 72 percent.
From the sub-Saharan Africa region, Nigeria experienced a 29 percent decline in FDI, valued at $ 1.2 billion, while the world as a whole has seen a 49 percent decline in FDI inflows. According to UNCTAD, the biggest drop on record is in Europe and the United States, where prospects remain negative. New projects have been reduced by 37 percent.
In related news, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) inaugurated the Dire Dawa Industrial Park. The park, built at a cost of USD 150 million, is expected to create 20,000 jobs in addition to the existing 1,000 jobs.
So far, the Semera Industrial Park in the Afar Region is the only project left. The government has invested $ 1.5 billion to create industrial parks solely to improve and expand the export of manufactured goods. Anticipating that it will eventually exit the industrial park developments, the government still regards the Public Private Partnership (PPP) as a viable alternative option to participate in industrial park projects.
It should be remembered that in 2014, Ethiopia issued an international bond, also known as Eurobonds, in an effort to raise a billion dollars and finance projects in the electrical, rail and sugar industries. The 10-year bond, with interest rates above six percent, has helped in part to finance the construction of some of the industrial park projects.
