{UAH} Ethiopia Plans Export Hubs With $10 Billion Factory Parks - Bloomberg Business

Ethiopia is targeting $1 billion of annual investment in industrial parks over the next decade to boost exports and make it Africa's top manufacturer, a special adviser to Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said.

The government may invest half of the $10 billion needed for zones across the country that will house textile, leather, agro-processing and other labor-intensive factories, Arkebe Oqubay said in an interview in the capital, Addis Ababa. The International Finance Corp., the World Bank's private lending arm, along with Chinese and European lenders and private-equity funds are interested in projects, he said.

"In terms of industrial development and manufacturing development, we want to put Ethiopia number one in Africa," Arkebe said.

Growth in Ethiopia has surpassed every other sub-Saharan country over the past decade and is forecast by the International Monetary Fund to exceed 8 percent over the next two years. The state-planned economy is opening up to foreign investors following its sale of $1 billion of Eurobonds last year and plans to start an equities and secondary debt market, London-based Exotix, which has a buy rating on the Eurobonds, said May 7.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-18/ethiopia-plans-manufacturing-hub-with-10-billion-factory-parks

Brian M. Kwesiga

President and CEO,

Ugandan North American Association - UNAA

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