Negotiation is under way for Wal-Mart to enter into the Ethiopian market, according to The Reporter. It was reported that an Ethiopian delegation was in Washington DC last week to discuss this matter with Wal-Mart officials. With its head quarter at Bentonville, Arkansas, this multinational retailer corporation runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores in more than 15 countries throughout the world with more than 55 banners.

The current negotiation between the Ethiopian government and Wal-Mart started following the purchase of a controlling share in a South African chain, Massmart, earlier this month.

The move to invite Wal-Mart came as a result of last year’s squabble between the government and local wholesalers and retailers following unprecedented commodity prices’ surge in the market. At the time the government blamed the wholesalers for artificially creating a price hike and took the populist yet controversial price cap measure.

Furthermore, the government issued a three-stage ultimatum of which one is inviting foreign companies into the market. After the lifting of the cap, the government undertook a measure to directly intervene in the market. However, the third option, which is inviting foreign companies, was considered by many to be highly unlikely and would not materialize.

Wal-Mart is the world's 18th largest public corporation and the largest public corporation when ranked by revenue. With over 2 million employees, Wal-Mart is the biggest private employer in the world.