This archive report was first published on 4 December 2019.
On December 4, 2019, Reuters reported that Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was set to introduce a draft investment law that would keep the country's banking and insurance sectors off-limits to foreign investors.
According to the draft law, banking, insurance, micro-credit, and micro-saving services would be reserved for domestic investors, while other sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism would be open to foreign investment.
The move is part of Abiy's efforts to transform Ethiopia into a middle-income country, but it has been met with criticism from some who argue that it will limit the country's economic growth.
Despite the restrictions, the government plans to offer two new mobile telephony licences and to sell a minority stake in Ethio Telecom, the state monopoly, to a strategic investor.
Abiy's reformist drive has been threatened by long-simmering ethnic rivalries that have led to sporadic acts of violence in the country.
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