Ethiopia needs more private sector investment to sustain growth: IMF
Ethiopia, whose economy is one of the fastest growing in the world, needs to encourage private sector investment to sustain its rapid expansion, the International Monetary Fund said. Hefty state-led investment has kept the economy of Africa's second most populous nation growing at more than 8 percent a year for over a decade, but economists say Ethiopia's rulers need to relax their grip and give room for more private enterprise to maintain momentum. Foreign investors are also barred from key sectors of the economy, such as banking or telecoms, which is a state-monopoly. The IMF said gross domestic product is set to grow 8.7 percent in the fiscal year ending in June, and 8 percent in the same period in 2015/2016. In 2013, it forecast Ethiopia's economy would expand by 7.5 percent in 2014/2015. "Looking ahead, the mission identified two key factors to sustain rapid and broad-based growth over the medium term: boosting domestic and foreign resource mobilisation, and red