2merkato

An estimated 10,000 condominium houses will be transferred over the next two months, to owners in the Ethiopian capital according to Kuma Demeksa, Mayor of Addis Ababa City Administration.

The condominium houses built at the Summit site will be transferred to new owners selected by random draws as well as to people relocated by the redevelopment projects currently underway in the city said Kuma.  

The new condos are in the final phase of construction awaiting finishing work such as painting, sewage systems, installation of water and electric lines said the Mayor.

The Ethiopian insurance industry is anticipating compulsory third-party insurance proclamation with uncertainty. The attitude of the insurers is primarily because motor vehicle insurance has persistently been unprofitable over the years.

Motor vehicle insurance is unprofitable due to high rates of traffic accidents and consistently increasing vehicle prices and maintenance costs according to industry sources. The motor insurance sector has the highest premiums because of the heavy losses associated with it, explain insiders.

Ethiopian Airlines announced that it will start code sharing with Singapore Airlines as of November 01, 2011. This agreement allows the two carriers to provide joint flight services between Addis Ababa and Singapore through Dubai.

Ethiopian Airlines further announced that the tickets for the code share flight will be available for sale immediately. The agreement between the two international carriers allows passengers to have wider range of flight services between Africa and Asia.

The 2011 Information Economy Report has disclosed that Ethiopian mobile phone penetration is a little more than 7%. The report was released on October 19th by the UN Conference on Trade and Development in association with the UN Economic Commission for Africa.

Expansion of mobile phone services may require an atmosphere of competition between different service providers according to Remi Lang, Economic Affairs officer at UNCTAD. Opening the telecom industry to foreign competitors could result in better performance he suggested.