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The amount of the loan is estimated to be around 1.45 billion dollars.

The airlines placed orders for 10 Dreamliners in 2005 valued at 1.5 billion dollars. Originally, deliveries were scheduled for 2008-2010, which Boeing failed to meet. Now Ethiopian expects to receive the first two of ten Dreamliners next March which it ordered in 2005.

Ethiopia's year-on-year inflation jumped to 40.6 percent in August from 39.2 percent in July as food prices, especially those of cereals went up, the Central Statistical Agency said on Tuesday. 

Early in August, the agency had said that Ethiopia’s inflation rate climbed to 39.2 percent in July from a year earlier.

Inflation accelerated from 38.1 percent in June, according to the agency. Food prices increased by 47.4 percent in July after rising 45.3 percent in the previous month, while the cost of non-food items fell from 27.9 percent to 27.8 percent, it said.

Sugar Corp., a state-owned sugar producer, said that it was building ten new factories and was inviting private investment as part of a plan to become one of the world's 10 biggest exporters of the crop.

The project involves constructing plants and establishing farms at a cost of about 4.6 billion dollars in four regions of the country, Abay Tsehaye, director general of the company, said last week.

Abay said that Ethiopia hopes to become one of the top 10 exporters of sugar in the coming 15 years.

Car sales slowed down in Ethiopia over the last week causing major importers of used cars to marginally cut prices.

Importers say that the latest trade and tax regulations are to blame for the slowdown. Industry observers on the other hand say that the increase in production and number of importers during the last few years have contributed to the slowdown.