Ethiopia Opens China Export Permits to All Licensed Banks

The National Bank of Ethiopia has lifted its exclusive arrangement with the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, allowing all commercial banks to process export transactions destined for China.

Ethiopia’s National Bank has announced a landmark shift in its export banking policy, formally authorizing all licensed commercial banks in the country to issue export permits and manage documentary credits for goods bound for the People’s Republic of China — effective immediately as of today, May 26, 2026.

Until now, under a directive issued in reference to the general economic and financial cooperation agreement between the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and China, all export permits for Chinese-bound goods were required to be processed exclusively through the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE). That restriction has now been officially lifted.

Key change: All licensed commercial banks are now fully authorized to issue export permits, manage documentary credits, and handle all related banking transactions for goods exported to China — ending CBE’s exclusive mandate.

The National Bank cited the need to streamline Ethiopia’s foreign trade sector, enhance competitiveness, and create a more accessible environment for exporters as the driving forces behind the policy reform. Banks have been instructed to facilitate export services for clients in strict compliance with existing standard foreign exchange and export regulations.

The move is expected to ease administrative bottlenecks for Ethiopian exporters trading with China, one of the country’s most significant commercial partners, by broadening the network of institutions through which export documentation and financing can be obtained.