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The Gilgel Gibe III hydro-power project will commence operation at the beginning of the coming Ethiopian New Year, the Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy said.

The Ethiopian Investment Agency (EIA) is proposing amendment to the Investment law, Fortune reported.

The proposed amendment, which has now reached the Council of Ministers (CoM), has been in the making for the past six months, according to Fortune.

Dashen Bank posted 606.7 million birr profit after tax for the 2012/13 fiscal year, a seven percent decrease from a year earlier, Fortune reported.

The Bank has reported a gross income of 1.817 billion birr – an increase of 5.3pc, earning per share of 823 birr.

Sino-Ethiopia Associate (Africa) PLC, a capsule manufacturer in Ethiopia, inaugurated its expansion plant located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) reported.

The company's new plant which is built at a cost of 100 million Birr has a capacity to produce 1.2 billion capsules annually, increasing the company's total production capacity to reach 2.4 billion, according to ENA.

Ethiopian Airlines, the fastest growing African airline, is happy to announce the commencement of services to Semera, the capital of the Regional State of Afar located in the North Eastern part of Ethiopia, starting from December 14, 2013. The new service will be operated thrice weekly with Ethiopian Q-400 Bombardier aircraft on, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

The Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority and the Investment Climate Facility (ICF) today signed a US$7.3 million agreement to establish an electronic single window system for international trade.

The project aims to set up a single window system to handle international trade, reducing the time it takes to process, export, import and transit procedures and reducing the time and costs of clearance documents preparation, according to Ethiopian News Agency.

Tullow Oil plc (Tullow) announces that the Tultule-1 wildcat well in the South Omo block onshore Ethiopia, has reached a total depth of 2,101 metres and will be plugged and abandoned as a dry hole.

The well was targeting a reservoir section similar to the sands drilled in the nearby Sabisa-1 well where oil shows were encountered but these sands were not penetrated in Tultule-1. Gas shows were however recorded which reaffirm the presence of a hydrocarbon source in the region.

Nyota Minerals Limited announces that it has entered into a conditional agreement with KEFI Minerals PLC, a gold and copper exploration and development company, for the sale of 75 percent of the issued share capital of Nyota Minerals Ethiopia Limited, the Company’s subsidiary which owns 100% of the Tulu Kapi Gold Project in Ethiopia and the proximal exploration licences.

Farmers in Bale Zone of Oromia State earned over 36 million Ethiopian birr from sale of 485,000kg honey during the first quarter of the current fiscal year, Ethiopian News Agency reported citing the Zonal Livestock Development and Health Office.

Hawassa University Technology Institute said it is undertaking an expansion project at a cost of 500 million Ethiopian birr to increase its enrollment capacity and quality of education, Ethiopian News Agency reported.