2merkato

Ethiopia and South Korea signed an agreement to avoid double taxation on the 5th of December in Addis Ababa.  The agreement is planned to promote investment opportunity and enhance economic development it was said.

The agreement is intended to help the two countries avoid double taxation and prevent fiscal evasion on income taxes it was said at the signing ceremony. The agreement is also expected to create favorable conditions in relation to capital flow and the free movement of individuals for business as well as other benefits.

The agreement was signed by Ahmed Shide, Finance and Economic Development State Minister and Kim Hyok Chol, South Korean Ambassador to Ethiopia, signed the agreement.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

The existing rapid economic growth in Ethiopia is need of more producers and investors to achieve sustainability and strength according to Ahmed Abtew, Deputy Chief and Head of the Regional Industry and Urban Development Bureau of the Amhara Regional State Speaking at a bazaar organized in the regional capital.

It is important to strengthen links between manufacturers, enterprises and members of the business community as well as the larger public to sustain the current rapid economic growth ties according to Ahmed.

It was also stated that the government is trying to improve the marketing system in the country,  this in turn is expected to help  increasing the number of investors and expand investment opportunity  ensure the benefits of the general public. 

Alecto Minerals announced that its project in Ethiopia is progressing well, earlier this week. The Wayu Boda project in the Adola Greenstone Belt located in Southern Ethiopia, was said to have returned a report of 47.4 grams of gold per ton, based on rock chip sampling.

Samples from artisanal workings were reported to have a registered up to 31.7 grams per ton while trenching returned 4.8 grams per tonne  in 1.3 meters. The group indicated that it also had completed satellite imagery of the area.

Alecto is currently undertaking geophysics, ground magentics and soil sampling with results expected to be published in the first quarter according to Damien Conboy, Managing Director of Alecto. The mining company hopes to advance to the next stage of the exploration after completing the ongoing task he added.

The management of Ethio Telecom will be handed over to Ethiopian staff once again as of December 13th. It is to be remembered France Telecom, the French telecom giant, had been managing the company on a contract bases since 2010.

France Telecom was given a two year contract to manage the state owned Ethio Tlecom with the intention of boosting telecom operations in the country, according to Dr Debretsion Gebre Michael, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Information and Communication.

This contact will expire end of this month. The contract will not be extended further and Ethio Telecom is not negotiating with any other foreign based telecom for further management contract said Dr Debretsion.

The new Airport built in Jigjiga, Ethiopia built for 68.4 million birr was inaugurated at the end of last month. The airport was inaugurated by Abdi Omer Mohammed, President of Somali Regional State.

The terminal was named Garad Wilwal, after the name of a well known clan leader in the region, at the request of the Somali Regional State Government.

The construction work was conducted by Asmelash & Sons Construction Company under the design and supervision of National Consultancy. The terminal has the capacity of handling 176 passengers per peak hours of operation, offices that can be used for various purpose, restaurants, and shops as announced at the inauguration.

The Export-Import Bank of the United States announced it will back the bonds that were issued by Ethiopian Airlines. The Airlines issued the bonds to buy ten Boeing 787 Dreamliner airplanes.

It was mentioned that the Airlines received a competitive interest rate from the bank. The agreement is good news to both parties because it helps the American export sector and Ethiopian Airlines will benefit from the financing program according to EXIM Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg.

Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) is to be the co financer on the deal it was also mentioned.

Nile Insurance Ethiopia reported double digit growth in net profit for the 2011/12 fiscal year. The insurer announced that it earned 33.4 million birr in profits after tax which is 58.2 percent increase as compared to the revenue earned in the previous fiscal year. Earnings per Share also increased by 26.49 percent to reach 425.6 birr, it was reported.

Shareholders of the company discussed the decreasing market share that Nile has in the sector at the General meeting held to announce the financial report at the Addis Ababa, Hilton Hotel. It was particularly noted that insurers that had joined the sector after Nile were currently controlling a larger percentage of the market according to some data cited.

The National Tobacco Enterprise of Ethiopia is seeking financial sources to purchase machinery able to produce 20,000 pieces of cigarette per minute at an estimated cost of around 142 million Br.

The Enterprise purchased its second machine in 2003 since it started production in 1941. Together these two machines have the capacity of producing 7,000 cigarettes per minutes it was stated by to Ayele Alebel, public relations officer of the Enterprise.

The enterprise is not able to satisfy the market demand with this production capacity currently that it covers only 62 percent of the market He added. The annual demand is around 6.5 billion pieces of cigarettes in 2012, but the company is producing only 3.7 billion sticks according to Ayele.

Awash International bank has announced its decision to purchase 100 automatic teller machines, and Point of Sale machines, for all its branches and selected hotels.  

The ATMs and Points of Sale machines are to be located where ever the telecommunications network is available according to the announcement.

It is to be remembered that Awash announced a net profit of 394.4 million birr for the last financial year, last month. The profits earned by the bank are the highest in the bank’s history according to the announcement.

Tullow Oil announced that it is about to start drilling its first exploration well in Southern Omo in Ethiopia. It is expected that Tullow will start drilling on the first well in two weeks. The explorer has hired a drilling company, and all the drilling machines and other required machines have arrived at the drilling location according to sources.

It is to be remembered that the Ethiopian Ministry of Mines announced that it was in the process of facilitating visas for a Tullow drilling crew that will oversee the launch of drilling processes in October. The crew is expected to be composed of 20 primarily Polish experts.