Prime Minister Abiy is continuing his reformist drive despite the threat of ethnic rivalries and intermittent acts of violence. Ethiopian parliamenthas passed a bill to open up the country’s financial sector to an estimated five million citizens living abroad. The bill enables them to buy shares in local banks and start lending businesses.
. Ethiopia’s banking sector is tightly state-controlled and dominated by the two oldest and most profitable institutions, Awash Bank and Dashen. Lemlem Hadgo, chair of the Revenues, Budget and Finance Committee of parliament said that the law will enable the Ethiopian born diaspora to participate in the economic growth of the country.
Since coming to power last year, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had pursued economic reforms aggressively to boost the country’s falling foreign exchange reserves .www.trendsnafrica had already reported Abiy’s government’s proposals to open up other key sectors of the economy to foreign investment. Ethiopian government’s plans to offer two telecoms licenses to foreign firms have met enthusiastic responses from global players. The economy has been expanding at a near double-digit annual rate for more than a decade, and hence these reforms are bound to get positive responses.
