Foreign Investment in Ethiopia Declines Following UnrestFebruary 15, 2017 - Foreign direct investment in Ethiopia dropped by 20 percent in the first half of the country’s fiscal year after violent anti-government protests in which foreign-owned businesses were targeted, according to Bloomberg. The country attracted $1.2 billion in the six months through the end of December, compared with $1.5 billion in the same period a year earlier, Fitsum Arega, commissioner of the Ethiopian Investment Commission, said in a phone interview Monday from the capital, Addis Ababa. He said the government may miss its annual target of $3.5 billion, with $3.2 billion more likely to be attainable. Businesses including those owned by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote and Dutch fruit processors were attacked during the unrest. The security forces killed at least 600 demonstrators, according to the Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia.

Source: Ethiopian News February 15, 2017 20:39 UTC