Ehiopia’s Council of Ministers has approved a draft law that would permit foreign nationals to own immovable property

• It proposes a legal framework that enables foreign ownership of real estate while preserving citizens’ rights to land use.
• The measure is designed to attract foreign capital, stimulate the housing market, and generate employment
• The draft proclamation must be legislated by the parliament taking into effect. 

• Key conditions for disbursement included the government issuing a 900 billion birr bond, which is a prerequisite for CBE to receive USD 250 million from the World Bank
• The Financial Sector Support Program (FSSP) is a three-year initiative, with the first major disbursement expected by December 2025. By the end of the year, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) could receive up to USD 550 million, contingent on meeting additional conditions met by it and other entities such as the NBE and the Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH)
• The state-owned DBE is also expected to secure some of the USD 700 million in funding approved under the FSSP

• Will steer 10 billion Br to small- and medium-size enterprises, four billion Birr to finance smartphones and other devices, and 1.3 billion Br to micro-credit.
• Borrowers can seek unsecured loans of up to 130,000 Br or pledge collateral for facilities as large as 1.2 million Br.
• Personal loans range from 5,000 to 30,000 Br and can be repaid in as little as five days or as long as 45 days.
• Salary-based credit tops out at one million Birr and is earmarked for roughly 500,000 employees, while device financing offers up to 30,000 Br with a 20pc facilitation fee.

• the same rating it issued after Ethiopia failed to pay the first USD 33 million coupon on its USD one billion Eurobond in December 2023
• However, the rating agency upgraded Ethiopia’s Long-Term Local-Currency IDR to ‘CCC+’ from triple C status

- Kerchanshe_Auto, the motor vehicles division of the Kerchanshe Group, will soon start the work of assembling Geely vehicles locally

- Under this exclusive agreement, all Geely vehicles in Ethiopia will receive a full range of international warranty and technical support

• The directive allows foreign investors to engage in the export trade of raw coffee, khat, oilseeds, pulses, hides and skins, forest products, poultry, and livestock sourced from the local market
• In terms of imports, the directive opens the door to foreign investors in all sectors except for fertilizer and petroleum, which remain restricted
• To read the full directive  https://www.wahidbusinessnews.com/display-resources# 

• Golden Dragon’s presence in the country has expanded steadily, with nearly 900 new energy buses now in operation across Ethiopia
• Golden Dragon and BKG began constructing a seven-hectare assembly plant in 2019 and the facility was completed in 2023 and began producing electric bus kits in 2024

• Taxis that do not operate until 10:00 PM in Addis Ababa will face a fine of 5,000 birr
• Banks are also now required to remain open until 9:30 PM, a significant extension from the previous closing time of 5:00 PM
• commercial and service-providing businesses located along major roads remain open until 9:30 PM

• The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) confirmed the repeal of the decades-old Establishment Proclamation No. 691/2000, replacing it with the more robust NBE Proclamation No. 1359/2017
• Non-commercial Franco-Valuta requests from government agencies, NGOs, and international organizations must now be vetted by Customs Operations Managers and approved only by senior Customs Office Managers
• you can check the NBE proclamation here: https://nbe.gov.et/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/National-Bank-of-Ethiopia-Proclamation-13592025.pdf

The new prices mark significant hikes from the last adjustment on January 7, 2025, which held steady through February

• The event, jointly organized by government institutions, the private sector, and development partners, is expected to draw over 1,000 global participants, according to the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance
• There is a Public-Private Dialogue (PPD), designed to incorporate private sector insights into policy discussions. High-level meetings with board members, ministers, and selected investors

- The directive mandates a minimum paid-up capital of five billion birr—approximately 39.7 million US dollars at the current average exchange rate of 126 birr per dollar

- Representative offices, restricted to non-banking roles, require 100,000 US dollars annually

- Licensing fees add further costs: 1,587 US dollars (200,000 birr) for investigation and 4,762 US dollars (600,000 birr) for a branch or subsidiary license—double the fees for local banks at 794 dollars (100,000 birr) and 2,381 dollars (300,000 birr).

- This decision aims to allocate a portion of the foreign exchange accumulated at the NBE to the private sector.

- The auctions will continue at least until the end of the current fiscal year

- further disclosed that an agreement had been reached to make bank-imposed commission fees and service charges more reasonable

CBE Capital SC and Wegagen Capital Investment Bank SC have acquired investment banking licenses

HST Investment Advisory Services PLC and Equation Securities Investment Advisor PLC join the expanding Ethiopian financial sector as investment advisors, and 

Ethio-Fidelity Securities SC nabs the first securities dealer license

- This expansion into Ethiopia, Green Motion’s 80th destination, follows a two-year negotiation process to align the company’s international standards with local regulations.

- After three months of discussions, an agreement was reached, allowing Green Motion to charge a 1% service fee for bookings in Ethiopia.

- EDR has successfully obtained a Multimodal Transport Operation (MTO) license, marking its official entry into the competitive logistics sector

- A year prior, EMA issued Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC) licenses to Panafric Global Plc, Tikur Abay Transport Plc, and Cosmos MTO.

- Featuring three charging modalities, the station can simultaneously charge up to 32 electric vehicles, ensuring convenience and efficiency for drivers

- The chargers are designed for efficiency, capable of replenishing batteries at a rate equivalent to traveling 1 km per second, depending on the vehicle’s capabilities.

- The service, set to begin on February 24, 2025, is also being rolled out in Morocco, Egypt, Tanzania, Algeria, and South Africa.

- The company was established in 2010 by Alibaba and expanded its business-to-consumer services to Ethiopia in August 2024. It sells over 200 million products on its platform worldwide.

- However, questions remain about the payment settlement mechanism, as regulators at the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) say key details are still in the air. While there has been talk of a currency swap agreement between Ethiopia and China, it has yet to be finalized.

• Officials want to see ESX host at least 90 initial public offerings (IPOs) in the coming years. 
• Shares, equity, and debt securities will be traded on the platform. Banks, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and other eligible firms are eligible to list.
• Wegagen Bank has become among the first to offer equity on ESX
• Ethio telecom’s 10 percent stake offering is slated to go live on ESX, while at least four other SOEs under the Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH) are also expected to list.
• The banking industry is likely to be the first to brave the new market. An estimated 400,000 shareholders hold equity in the country’s commercial banks, and they will now be able to sell and buy shares on ESX at any time.
• Companies also will be able to issue debt securities, which so far have been limited to treasury bonds issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE).

• Earlier this year, the cap was increased 14% to 18% due to declining inflation, tight monetary conditions, and improved supply-side factors.
• Prior to the cap, annual credit growth in the banking sector averaged over 25%, with some major banks exceeding 30%.
• As part of the reforms, the government will introduce market-oriented Treasury bonds to replace the current system, which requires banks to purchase bonds at a fixed interest rate of 9%. This directive, implemented in November 2022 will be repealed by June 2025.

The Chinese car manufacturer BYD has officially entered the Ethiopian market with the introduction of five battery electric vehicle (BEV) models, including the compact hatchback Seagull and the Tang SUV, in collaboration with its Ethiopian distributor, MOENCO, one of the largest automotive distributors and retailers in the country, representing over 20 brands, including Toyota.