(May 23, 2013, (ADDIS ABABA))--Ethiopia's huge public spending has created one of Africa's fastest-growing economies, but volatile inflation, balance of payments pressures and a stifled private sector raise questions over its sustainability, the International Monetary Fund said.
Ethiopia's 85 million-strong population, making it Africa's second-most populous nation, offers an attractive market with cheap labor for foreign investors.Across the capital, mushrooming construction sites, glass-clad office towers and giant billboards showcasing hi-tech electronics point to Ethiopia's emerging middle class.
But idle youths loitering on streets and impoverished slums underscore some of the challenges facing the government. Economic growth will slow to an estimated 6.5 percent this fiscal year from 8.5 percent in 2011/12, Jan Mikkelsen, the IMF's country representative in Ethiopia, said in an interview on Thursday.
Massive energy, transport, IT and manufacturing projects require financing equivalent to roughly 15 percent of Ethiopia's estimated $33 billion annual national output. About half had to be domestically funded, Mikkelsen said. Read more from Voice of America »
Ethiopia's 85 million-strong population, making it Africa's second-most populous nation, offers an attractive market with cheap labor for foreign investors.Across the capital, mushrooming construction sites, glass-clad office towers and giant billboards showcasing hi-tech electronics point to Ethiopia's emerging middle class.
But idle youths loitering on streets and impoverished slums underscore some of the challenges facing the government. Economic growth will slow to an estimated 6.5 percent this fiscal year from 8.5 percent in 2011/12, Jan Mikkelsen, the IMF's country representative in Ethiopia, said in an interview on Thursday.
Massive energy, transport, IT and manufacturing projects require financing equivalent to roughly 15 percent of Ethiopia's estimated $33 billion annual national output. About half had to be domestically funded, Mikkelsen said. Read more from Voice of America »
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