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South Sudan is to build an oil pipeline to Port Djibouti through Ethiopia.

A memorandum of understanding for the construction of the pipeline was signed in Addis Ababa earlier this month according to Barnaba Marial Benjamin, South Sudanese Minister for Information.

Companies from Europe, China and the United States have expressed interest in carrying out feasibility studies said Benjamin.

The annual inflation rate in Ethiopia fell to 32% in January following a slow down in food price increases according to the Central Statistics Agency.

The inflation rate for the month of January dropped from 35.9% in December following the drop in annual food inflation to 41.4% from 46.7% in December said the report from the agency.

Non food inflation also showed a decrease from 21.8 percent in December to 19.2% in January noted the Agency.

Google organized the first ever g|Ethiopia this week. The event was intended to bring together software developers and other parties in the Information Technology sector to strengthen their application of Google products.

G|Ethiopia was held at this time because of the growth experienced by the country and the increased use of Google services like G-mail in Ethiopia.

The two day event was held at the Addis Ababa Hilton hotel with organizers offering overviews on how Google products can be put to use in the African context, with a special emphasis on access to the internet.

Ethiopia projects an 11% economic growth this year according to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi addressing the House of Representatives yesterday.

It is expected that the agricultural sector will grow by 8.5%, the industrial sector by 17.9% and the service sector by 11.5% said the Prime Minister.

Ethiopia has earned 1.347 billion US dollars in revenue from the export of various products in the first two quarters of the fiscal year said Meles while presenting a six month performance report.

Ethiopia earned 196 Million US dollars from the export of agricultural products through the eastern part of the country in the first six months of the current Ethiopian fiscal year according to the Dire Dawa Branch of the Ministry of Trade.

The products primarily exported through this route include Khat, Coffee, fruits and vegetables, oil sees and live animals said Tesfaye Hadgo, Head of the MoT office.

Deloitte Consulting Ltd. has formed a collaborative venture with HST consulting plc, a local firm to enter the market in Ethiopia.

The partnership was registered with a capital of 1.1 million birr Deloitte is expected to offer management consultancy, senior management training services, and tax advisory.

The two companies took about a year in discussions as Deloitte studied the market potential in Ethiopia according to a senior partner with HAST consulting plc.

Dalol Oil is set to enter the Ethiopian market to distribute fuel and lubricants after finalizing the process with Ministry of Trade, Ethiopia.

The domestic oil company signed an agreement with the Ethiopian Petroleum Enterprise to obtain its operational permit and launch services.

Esayas Yeyesuwork Chief Executive Officer of Dalol signed an agreement with Yigzaw Mekonnen, Director General Imports and Distribution of Ethiopian Petroleum Enterprise signed the agreement after the Ministry of Trade gave its final approval.

Tigray Resources encountered an additional copper-polymetallic mineralization close to the site of its successful drilling last year at its Terakimti prospect in Ethiopia.

Tigray highlighted as much as 74 meters of 3.77% copper, 14 g/t silver, 1.31g/t gold, and 0.72% percent at about 57 meters down at the Terakimti site last December.

The latest results from Tigray reveal that it has intersected with 41 meters of 3.24% copper, 25 g/t silver, 1.19 g/t gold and 1.19% zinc at 41 meters away from its previous intercept.

Country Tower, a shopping mall dedicated to electronic and IT equipment was opened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The six-storey building constructed at a total cost of 65 million birr is to be found on Wawel Street opposite the Cathedral High School.

The mall is designed to offer all IT items and electronic products at one place as well as offering office space for businesses engaged in technology related work according to Daniel Mamo, Project Manager of the mall.

Eight new textile projects and expansion programs are expected to become operational in Ethiopia this fiscal year. The projects are scheduled for completion with a combined investment of over 4.4 billion birr.

Five of the projects underway are being newly constructed at a total estimated cost of 3.4 billion birr and are expected to employ 3000 people.

The remaining three projects are initiatives to expand existing plants at a total cost of more than a billion birr to offer employment for a further 1800 people.