Answer ... (a) Commercial/corporate
Certain resolutions passed by shareholders must be notarised and authenticated before a public notary in Ethiopia. Authentication requirements also apply to foreign documents. It is important to identify issues that require decisions of the shareholders to be made through an authenticated resolution.
(b) Financial
Foreign debt facilities and security agreements must be preapproved and subsequently registered by the National Bank of Ethiopia. With regard to movable property, there is a collateral registry through which securities on movable property are registered.
(c) Litigation
Except for decisions of the Cassation Bench of the Supreme Court, information on litigations is not publicly accessible.
(d) Tax
In addition to the annual tax reporting requirement for which companies must obtain tax clearance, specific transactions such as asset transfers that trigger tax liability should be considered. A tax audit covering a minimum period of five years is also critical.
(e) Employment
A transaction that results in the transfer of the company as a going concern does not affect the terms of the target’s employment contracts with its employees. However, a transaction that results in the relocation of the business or the assets may affect employment contracts.
(f) Intellectual property and IT
Ethiopia has legislation protecting trademarks, copyrights and patents. Consequently, there are registration requirements to protect IP rights in Ethiopia. However, Ethiopia is not a party to the Convention establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization. For this reason, IP rights must be registered by the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Authority as per the relevant laws.
(g) Data protection
Ethiopia has not yet ratified its data protection law. However, there are fragmented laws in place which address the right to privacy. A Data Protection Law has reached an advanced stage and is expected to be ratified in 2023.
(h) Cybersecurity
There is computer crimes legislation that applies to cybersecurity issues.
(i) Real estate
Land in Ethiopia is owned by the public. For this reason, individuals and companies have a long-term leasehold on land. The particular location of the real estate will determine the applicable legislation which governs its ownership status as well as the activities that are permitted on the premises.