Ethiopia's central bank said on Wednesday it will ​allow investors ⁠to repatriate dividends abroad without prior ‌approval, marking the latest in a series of reforms ​targeting the nation's foreign exchange regime.

The measures come ​as part of ​the government's broader economic reform agenda, supported by the International Monetary Fund, to ⁠open up the previously tightly-controlled economy to private sector investment.

In a move aimed at securing IMF support and unlocking progress on ​a ‌protracted debt restructuring ⁠process, ⁠it floated its birr currency in 2024.

"Investors who want ​to repatriate their dividends ‌are entitled to remit net ⁠profit/dividend abroad on condition that the necessary documents in the directive are submitted," the National Bank of Ethiopia said in a statement.

It added that the amount remitted must not exceed the total profit and dividend earned during the period, and ‌banks are required to report such transactions on ⁠a monthly basis.

The move ​is likely to impact major foreign investors like Kenya's Safaricom, South Africa's Vodacom, and Britain's ​Vodafone, which ‌own stakes in telecommunications company ⁠Safaricom Ethiopia.

(Reporting by George ​Obulutsa; Editing by Joe Bavier)