FORTUNE+ VIDEO SPONSORED CONTENTS ADVERTORIALS FORTUNE AUDIO Fortune Careers TRADE AFRICA Election 2026 New TIME REMAINING UNTIL ETHIOPIA’S NATIONAL ELECTION 0Days 0Hours 0Minutes 0Seconds




City Ushers East African Finance Summit

Jun 17 , 2023


[ssba-buttons]

The sixth annual East African Finance Summit took place last week, bringing together several players in the financial sector. Vice Governor of the central bank, Solomon Desta heralded Ethiopia's financial sector as being on a positive trend by indicating that the 109 financial institutions in the country had managed to amass 32 trillion Br in assets. He disclosed that independent regulation of the insurance companies is under development. With the impending entry of foreign investment in the local banking sector, Solomon advised commercial banks in attendance to 'get ready for consolidation'. The directives to govern the entrance modality of foreign banks are currently being worked on. Richard Keller, managing director of Genesis Analytics, cautioned Ethiopian private banks to get ready for intense competition from non-banking companies that provide mobile money operations by comparing the case of M-Pesa, which collects more in transaction fees than Kenyan commercial banks combined. He highlighted the underdevelopment of Ethiopia's insurance sector by indicating its meagre 0.3pc contribution to the country's GDP. Keynote speaker Brook Taye (PhD), Director General of the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA), said they would be issuing service provider licenses in two months.


Radar

Prime Capital Joins ESX, Seeks Securities Dealership Licence

Prime Capital has secured trading membership on the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX) and is pursuing a securities dealership licence to expand its brokerage and investment banking services, according to Head of Business Development and Marketing Fikremarkos. The firm received its trading membership after obtaining an investment banking licence from the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA) and meeting all ESX requirements. The licence authorises Prime Capital to execute securities tran...


Radar

Parliament Ratifies Tax Amendment, Assigns PMO to Lead Conciliation, Imposes 10pc Penalty on Late Evidence

The Prime Minister's Office will appoint independent tax conciliators while taxpayers face a 10pc penalty for late evidence under the Federal Tax Administration Amendment ratified by Parliament last week. By shifting the selection of “conciliators” from the tax authority to the PMO, authorities aim to establish a neutral dispute-resolution system to speed up out-of-court settlements. Experts describe the move as a high-stakes reform with notable institutional risks. The legislation, pa...


Radar

ZamZam Bank Registers Shares, Eyes Capital Market Debut

ZamZam Bank has secured approval from the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA) to register its shares, becoming the first fully interest-free bank to complete the regulatory process for public trading. The approval covers five million existing shares worth five billion Br and one million bonus shares valued at one billion Br, paving the way for the Bank's future participation in Ethiopia's capital market. ZamZam plans to raise its capital to 15 billion Br and introduce Sharia-compliant i...