Economy

Ethiopia Authorizes Sovereign Guarantees for Strategic Investors

The Reporter · 6 hours ago · Read the Full Story on The Reporter
Ethiopia Authorizes Sovereign Guarantees for Strategic Investors
AI SUMMARY

Ethiopia has established a new legal framework allowing the Ministry of Finance to issue binding sovereign guarantees and compensation commitments to strategic investors.

  • The Ministry of Finance is authorized to issue binding compensation commitments and negotiate sovereign guarantees for strategic projects under Council of Ministers Regulation No. 590/2026.
  • Qualifying investments must be designated as strategic by the Council of Ministers or the Ethiopian Investment Board based on national priorities, technology transfer, or regional connectivity.
  • Compensation commitments can be triggered by government expropriation, nationalization, regulatory deprivation, or state-owned enterprise off-take agreement breaches.
  • Potential compensation may cover asset fair market value, termination fees, liquidated damages, and direct operational costs.
  • Regulations mandate strict liability caps, mandatory risk assessments, financial thresholds, and a dedicated non-lapsing contingency fund.
  • The Ministry of Finance must submit annual disclosures on potential liabilities and payments to the Council of Ministers and the House of Peoples' Representatives.
  • Investors must exhaust contractual remedies before claiming payouts, and commitments can be revoked for fraud, gross negligence, or project abandonment.