Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Ethiopia Imposes Restrictions on Foreign Exchange Trading


Sun 22 Jan 2023 | 11:24 PM
Taarek Refaat

The Central Bank of Ethiopia imposed new restrictions on trading foreign currencies in the Ethiopian local markets, as of Monday, and they are applied to citizens and foreign residents and visitors to the country.

The bank stated, according to what was mentioned by the Middle East News Agency, that the recipients of these new transactions will be prohibited from carrying more than 3,000 Ethiopian Birr upon entering Ethiopian territory from abroad.

As for those leaving abroad, they are prohibited from carrying more than 3,000 Ethiopian Birr (US $55).

The Central Bank of Ethiopia indicated that travelers to or from Djibouti will be excluded, as they will be allowed to possess a maximum of 10,000 Ethiopian Birr (US $188).

The Central Bank of Ethiopia attributed the imposition of these restrictions to the necessity of controlling foreign exchange circulation, as well as limiting the money supply of the local currency to control the high inflation rates that the country is witnessing.

The new restrictions stipulate that foreign arrivals to Ethiopia transfer all their foreign currency into Ethiopian currency through approved exchange offices, and oblige them to disclose to the Ethiopian port authorities upon arrival their foreign currency if it exceeds $4,000, and this also applies to Ethiopians holding dual citizenships, upon entering the country.

Also, those coming to Ethiopia with more than $10,000 must transfer them upon their arrival to the Ethiopian currency through any of the approved exchange offices in the Ethiopian arrival ports, which operate around the clock, and every holder of foreign currency on Ethiopian territory is required to obtain an approved bank notice from approved places and revealing its source.