The Ethiopian government is taking measures geared towards eliminating mining barriers and wooing mineral investors into the Horn of Africa nation.
According to Reuters, PM Abiy government plans to liberalize several sectors to transform Ethiopia into a middle-income nation.
Speaking during a mining conference in Addis Ababa, minerals minister Samuel Urkato presented a draft policy document. The draft reforms uncertainties that held back the development of the mining industry.
Moreover, Ethiopia will focus on minerals used in agriculture such as potash and construction such as basalt, pumice and limestone, to drive industrialization.
The government has reduced the corporate income tax rate for miners by 10 percent to 25 percent of earnings. In addition, there has been a lowering of the precious metals royalty rate to 7% from 8%.
Ethiopia intends to increase the mining sector’s contribution to GDP from the current 3 percent to 10 percent.
The government is hopeful that the new measures will plug in the trade deficit and generate foreign exchange.
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