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Ethiopian government is planning a new regulation for livestock, animal hides and skins trading. The Ministry of Trade has created a new office focusing on livestock resource development, including breeding and veterinary issues.

“The marketing chain is very long. It is not led by the market, but by middlemen with five or more marketing chains,” said Kelifa Hussien, Director of the Live Animal, Hide and Skin Marketing Directorate.

Ethiopian Insurance Corporation (EIC), the state-owned insurer has collected premiums of 2.1 billion Ethiopian birr, in the just ended fiscal year, Fortune reported citing the corporation's annual report released on Friday, August 30, 2013.

EIC has missed by 1.2 percent of its target of collecting 2.5 billion birr. However, the corporation's premium collection has grew by 46.3 percent compared to the previous year.

Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA) has awarded International Consultants & Technocrats Pvt Ltd (ICT) – an Indian-based company – for the consultation and supervision of the Kombolcha to Mille, via Bati road construction project, Fortune reported.

The 26 million Ethiopian birr contract was signed on August 20, 2013. International Consultants & Technocrats Pvt Ltd. was awarded the contract after competing in an international bid against five companies.

Coffee Plantation Development Enterprise (CPDE) said it has secured over 81 million birr net profit from export of coffee and other agricultural commodities during the concluded Ethiopian Fiscal Year. 

Speaking in a meeting held in Jimma Town, Oromia State on Monday, 26 August, 2013 to evaluate the past year's performance report and plan of action for the current fiscal year, Enterprise General Manager, Ephrem Mersihe Hazen said the the enterprises earning has exceeds the previous year by 64 million Birr. He said over 34,300 quintals coffee was exported to Belgium, Germany, USA, France, Australia, the Netherlands, Italy and South Africa during the reported period.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Water and Energy said over 13,200 home solar systems has been installed in rural areas which are not connected to the national electric grid system over the past nine months.

Public relation and communication director with the Ministry, Bizuneh Tolcha told Ethiopian News Agency, that the installation is part of the year long project which was launched in December 2012 at a cost of 208.8 million Ethiopian birr secured from World Bank. He said the project so far has benefited more than 13,200 households across the country.

Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom Bahrain, has appointed Mr. Salah AlShawosh as the airline’s country manager to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Mr. AlShawosh, a Bahraini national, was previously based in India where he held the position of airport manager in Bombay for six years.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with the Ministry of Urban Development & Construction, and  Commercial Bank of Ethiopia , are finalizing a new housing registration strategy for Ethiopian expats.

The move was following problems during the registration period which ran from 12-23 August, 2013 marked by numerous challenges, such as lack of guidelines to identify eligible expats for the housing program.

Ethiopia's economy is to grow 7 percent a year over the next three to five years, the World Bank forcasted. The growth is below its average of the last decade, and to push that rate higher, the government needs to change policy to encourage private investment, the Bank said.

"We still think growth could be robust - in the order of 7 percent in the medium term would not be unexpected," said Lars Christian Moller, the bank's lead economist in Ethiopia, in an interview with Reuters.

Ethiopia is to delay the implementation date of the universal health insurance law for six months which was scheduled to be started this August. 
The delay was attributed to lagging behind in setting up legal frameworks and operational manuals, and staffing, Fortune reported quoting an expert with the Ethiopian Health Insurance Agency.

The postponement has been communicated to all public institutions in a circular two weeks ago.

Ethiopia's Nib Bank, together with its sister company, Nib Insurance has awarded China Railway Engineering Group for construction of a 35 storey headquarters building.  
China Railway Engineering Group is already involved in several projects in Ethiopia, prominently the Ethio-Djibouti railway construction project.