2merkato

Artmetal is expanding into the production of machine tools and local ferric finished products to fill a perceived need in the market in Ethiopia according to Seid Hassen, General Manager of Artmetal parent company, Wide Business plc.

Artmetal was previously engaged in just the import of iron which costs much less than importing finished machine tools he said.

The Artmetal Supply and Ferric Processing and Engineering Factory in Alem Gena was expanded at a cost of 18 million birr to increase its production capacity to 600 cubic meters of ferric products monthly. 

A study conducted by the Common Market of Eastern and Southern revealed that Ethiopia’s manufacturing secure is not yet ready to be competitive internationally and is showing little sign of improvement.

The study was commissioned by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and financed by the COMESA secretariat.

Problems noted by the study include slow productivity, high production costs, shortage and low quality of raw materials, shortage in foreign exchange, lack of skilled manpower, and frequent power interruptions.

The Shipping and Logistics Enterprise of Ethiopia has made a minimum of 9% discount on ocean freight transport for the next month.

The Enterprise did not officially announce the discount, which has been effective since the 9th of February with importers discovering it through lower prices on shipments.

The discount is due to the coordinated efforts of the various government agencies that have come together to form the new Enterprise according to an official.

Ethiopia earned more than 60 million US dollars from the export of oil seeds last month according to Kebede Chane, Minister of Trade.

The revenue was earned from the export of 48,000 tons of oil seeds said Kebede speaking at the opening of the International Conference on Oil Seeds, Pulses and Spices, held in Addis Ababa.

Export trade is significant for the Ethiopian agriculture led development strategy and sesame production has been contributing to enhance the nations export income he noted.

The Revenues and Customs Authority of Ethiopia is to launch an electronic cargo tracking system on the road between Addis Ababa and Port Djibouti.

The effort, which will commence in two weeks, expects to track and monitor the transit of goods, to reduce customary theft that added up to 1.4% of commodities exported in the last fiscal year according to statistics from the International Cargo Securities Council.

Such acts of theft have negatively affected the image of Ethiopian exports on the international market claimed Belay Desta, Head of the Border Directorate with ERCA.

The Revenues and Customs Authority of Ethiopia has submitted a shortlist of six companies to conduct a national revenues potential study to the World Bank.

The firm selected to conduct the job will be required to measure the revenue productivity of each tax and discover discrepancies between potential revenue and the revenue being actually collected.

The study will reveal strength’s and weakness on the part of ERCA in its efforts to raise domestic revenue according to an official with the authority.

Airbus expects a six month on the A350-XWB aircraft on order by Ethiopian Airlines, Ethiopia’s flag carrier. The delay has not caused complications with customers according to Airbus officials.

It is to be remembered that Ethiopian Airlines signed the 2.9 billion dollar agreement for the purchase of the aircraft in 2009.

The deal was signed for Ethiopian Airlines by former airline Chief Executive Officer Girma Wake.

Two Banks under formation in Ethiopia, Noah International Bank and Tsehay International Bank, submitted letters to the National Bank requesting the dissolution and release of equity raised by shareholders and placed in blocked accounts with the central bank.

Promoters of both banks cited the recent directive from the central bank that raised the required capital for banks from 75 million to 500 million as the reason behind the decision for dissolution. 

Noah Bank had raised 80 million birr and Tsehay Bank 100 million, which was previously adequate but far from the current requirements of 500 million. Promoters of the two banks claimed that the banks did not have the ability to raise the required levels of capital.

The hotel rating assessment project launched in Ethiopia has failed due to the absence of prior preparation according to Sisay Teklu, Coordinator of Tourism Services Competence Accreditation Directorate with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Hoteliers had their facilities rated unexpectedly as part of the requirement for a competence certificate put into place by the Ministry of Trade last year.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has been evaluating the assessment reports for the last months before coming to the decision to discard the project.

The tourist industry in Ethiopia has seen a growth of 111% to earn 253 million dollars in the first two of the current fiscal year according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The number of tourists visiting the country has increased by 44% with 321,000 visitors during the last six months.

The average length of stay for tourists to Ethiopia has also shown an increase from 4 days to 6 days.