Chinese firms in textile, manufacturing industries to invest in Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, February 13, 2017 (FBC) – Ten giant Chinese companies have decided to invest in Ethiopia of which half of them are licensed in textile and garment manufacturing industries, said the Ethiopian Investment Commission.

Ethiopia has managed to attract anchor companies during the first six months of the current Ethiopian budget year despite being under state of emergency.

The Commissioner Fitsum Arega said that the decision by the companies to invest in Ethiopia clearly shows that the East African nation has continued to become a favorable investment destination for anchor companies.

Since the number of projects licensed and the ones started operation are not equivalent the government has decided to focus on anchor companies and attract them. This strategy will enable the nation attract FDI that could be changed into reality and benefit the country through job creation as well as revenue earning, Fitsum said.

The country prioritized attracting some but giant, effective companies which can meet the targets of both the company and the country. Following this strategy, the Commission has changed its way of licensing projects; priority has given to those companies with high profile.

But the way attracting and licensing foreign investors has been changed during the past six months. They have been decided to give the license for companies with high profile which will change the projects into action.

It is in this strategy that the nation has managed to attract the 10 giant Chinese companies, according to Fitsum. Among the 10 companies decided to invest in textile and garment manufacturing, Jiangsu Sunshine Group is one.

The Group engaged in wool textiles and garments, biological pharmacy, real estate, energy, thermal electricity, IT industry, and others businesses in China and internationally, has decided to invest in Ethiopia with close to 1 billion US dollars.

The peace and stability which continue to prevail in the country, ongoing infrastructure development including railway, road and energy, among others attracted the companies.

Trainable workforce with competitive wage, fast growing economy, strong support from the government, favorable investment climate are also mentioned among the factors that lure companies.

These efforts have enabled the nation to attract projects worth 1.2 billion US dollars during the reported period and China was the leading country both in terms of capital and engagement in manufacturing industry, while India comes next during the first half year, Fitsum said.

At the nation, the work has been done to attract companies engaging in manufacturing industries such as textile and garment, leather and leather products.