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1. Ethiopia is not a vibrant venue for foreign investment. There is very little evidence of foreign or domestic investment.
2. Successful process of political and socio-economic transformation. Most Ethiopians who will talk to you about the government will tell you that this government is as bad as the previous one, just not as brutal. There has been no social or economic change since the Derg changed its policies in its last few years.
3. It is true that there is a vast spectrum of untapped potential and possibilities, primarily because there is so little in Ethiopia now.
4. The incentives offered are neither comprehensive (limited to some income tax and customs duty relief) nor lucrative.
5. The Investment Incentive Regulations provide no exemption from duties on imports of raw materials for production of export goods.
6. No exemption from export duties is given specifically to foreign investors because no export duties are levied upon any exports except coffee, the country's primary export.
7. Income tax moratoriums are three to five years, not eight.
8. Ethiopia does not offer "Fantastic Market Opportunities": 85 percent of the population of 55 million are subsistence farmers and the disposable income of the middle class is extremely limited.
9. There is no Superb Investment Infrastructure. Access to land, power and water is a major problem.
10. There is a small private banking sector. But the government-owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia has 93 percent of the market. Its management boasts that "roughly 80% of the loans due in 1996 were repaid." [Commercial Bank of Ethiopia Controls 93% of Market, ADDIS TRIBUNE, May 16, 1997, at 1.]