Ethiopia is still not ready to open up its market for foreign banks, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has said during his visit to Kenya.

The Ethiopian leader was speaking at a breakfast hosted by Equity Bank at the Intercontinental hotel in Nairobi. Prime Minister Hailemariam was responding to Kenyan business community's inquiries on available opportunities in Ethiopia following the signing of an inter-governmental pact for Special Treatment Agreement for Kenyan traders going to Ethiopia.

But according to Prime Minister Hailemariam, banking is not part of the agreement signed between him and Kenyan President Kibaki on Tuesday. "Liberalising the banking sector would make credit expensive for business and slow down growth momentum, and that is why we have state our own Development Bank of Ethiopia to create a balance," the Prime Minister Hailemariam.

While urging Kenyan business community to venture into Ethiopia, Prime Minister Hailemariam said opportunities are mainly in agricultural production, agro-processing and manufacturing.

Ethiopia offers a variety of incentives for investors including serviced-leased land, collateral-free loans, duty-free importation of capital goods alongside tax holidays of up to seven years. Kenya and Ethiopia have already agreed on axle-load requirement for trucks transiting to and from either side of the border.

From www.allAfrica.com