EKOS Steel Mill Plc, a Korean firm, called for the establishment of a center of excellence for advanced manufacturing and engineering that will undertake research on technology and investments related to production facilities, including refinery of crude oil.

The federal government spends USD48 million every month to import edible oil, underscoring the pressing need for import substitution, Ministry of Trade & Industry said.

The Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) reiterated governmental readiness to provide due attention to the support of foreign investors affected by instability, especially those impacted by the law enforcement operation in Tigray region.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCATD), in its Investment Trends Monitor Report released this week, indicated that Ethiopia remains relatively stable drawing USD 1.1 billion in Foreign Direct Investment inflows during the first half of 2020.

Moody’s global relative rating of Ethiopia has been downgraded as the public revenue streams dry up. The government has downplayed the recent credit rating siting the global pandemic as the cause for government’s coffers drying up, The Reporter has learnt.

The Ethiopian government has lifted the ban imposed on foreign investment on the local cement industry.

The French augmented hotelier, Accor Hotels Group, has agreed to bring in and manage Ibis Styles, a mid-scale brand as a fifth pipeline project in Ethiopia under its umbrella.

Inaugurating the delayed Genale Dawa (GD-III) hydroelectric power project on Tuesday Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) made an appeal to local investors to build the next phase of the hydroelectric project GD-6, in the same river basin that requires an estimated financial outlay of USD one billion.

Once a champion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) attracting to the tune of USD 4.2 billion, Ethiopia’s FDI has slowed to USD 2.5 billion, landing at the lowest amount recorded since 2016, The Reporter has learnt.

Yet again another Japanese business mission to Ethiopia ends with no significant investment commitments being made, except advising the authorities to consider easing business procedures and policies, putting in place environmental safety regulation and improve the pool of skilled manpower, The Reporter has learnt.