Ethiopia GDP forecast to grow 10.8% in 2019/20 -central bank

Reuters | Ethiopia’s economy is expected to grow at a faster pace in its 2019/20 fiscal year from the previous year, helped by improvements in its financial sector, its central bank said.

The economy is expected to expand by 10.8 percent in the fiscal year to July 8, up from 9 percent in the previous year, the bank said in its 2018/19 annual report seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

“The economic prospects for 2019/20 are envisaged to be positive despite some down side risks related to export commodity price shocks and temporary inflation pressure,” it said.

The bank said a raft of economic reforms launched recently were expected to lead to a more vibrant financial system.

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who took office in 2018, has launched an ambitious economic reform drive aimed at opening up one of Africa’s fastest-growing but most closed economies.

It has started the process of privatizing its telecoms, banking and sugar sectors.

Inflation stood at 19.5 percent year-on-year in December from 20.8 percent a month e