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Ethiopian Banker, Admassu Y. Tadesse has been appointed as the 4th president of the Preferential Trade Area Bank of the COMESA. The PTA board of directors appointed the banker from Ethiopia on the 10th of January.

The PTA (The Eastern and Southern African Trade & Development Bank) board was chaired by Willard Manug and made up of seven members.

Admassu Y. Tadesse was elected from a pool of 120 candidates from 15 countries including Ethiopian Dr. Mulu Ketsela according to sources.

Hide and skin prices saw an increase of 25% in Ethiopia last month. The price of hide and skin normally lowered or remained the same during holiday seasons but that has not been the case this year said the Leather Industry Development Institute in Ethiopia.

The recent increase in prices is related to the rise in new tannery production and the growth of the leather industry according to officials with the Ethiopian Leather Industries Association.

Mesfin Industrial Engineering plc, Ethiopia will begin assembling three new models of GEELY vehicle in 2012. MIE is expected to introduce, to the Ethiopian market, the SL1500cc model in June, followed by the EC1500cc and the 1300cc hunchback.

The three models have already been imported to Ethiopia and will be tested on Ethiopian roads this week according to Yesuf Adamnur, Sales and Promotion Manager at MIE.

The Transportation Office of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is partnering with the Agence France de Development to set up a rapid transit bus service. The city is to float an international tender for study of a pilot program.

The first line is expected to be Gofa Gabriel to General Wingate TVET School (12km) said Tiblets Asgedom, Head of the Transport Bureau of the Addis Ababa City Administration.

The project will commence after the study is completed according to Tiblets.

The growth of deposits in private banks, in Ethiopia, is expected to decline said a study conducted by Access Capital. Increase in deposits is to lower to 24% in 2012 from the 36% registered in 2011 according to the research.

The slow down is a reflection of more stringent monetary policies and stronger competition from widely expanding state banks noted the study.

Ethiopian Airlines, Ethiopia’s flag carrier, announced a joint initiative to purchase fuel with eight other African airlines. The collaborative initiative to bur fuel is expected to result in significant savings for the airlines.

The program for the nine airlines to jointly buy fuel was launched following the conclusion of the evaluation process of bids tendered by several fuel companies said The African Airlines Association.

Nib International Bank, Ethiopia auctioned of 80,000 shares within a few hours at a 40% premium over the original share price offered to the public.  

The 80,000 shares on offer were all sold within half a day for cash remarked a businessman who purchased shares worth 40,000 birr. The bank was not accepting checks because there were many willing to pay cash for the shares he noted. 

Ethio Telecom has reduced tariffs across zones for calls made from landlines in Ethiopia as of the 1st of January. Rates were reduced by 66.3% to 83 cents per minute during peak hours and to 0.35 cents at off peak hours, a 228% reduction.  

The move is targeted to encourage an increase in the number of subscribers to landlines in the face of falling revenue and low numbers of new subscribers for fixed line services.

The Ministry of Mines, Ethiopia, is to resume licensing for mineral exploration. The ministry is expected to begin accepting new applications for licensing in mineral exploration next month according to Sinkenesh Ejigu Ethiopian Minister of Mines.

It is to be remembered that the ministry halted the issue of new licensing in mineral exploration to evaluate operators already in the sector before issuing new permits.

Ethiopian Investment conferences are to be held in North California and Los Angeles on the 4th and 11 of February respectively. The conferences are planned to discuss opportunities for investment available in Ethiopia for members of the Ethiopian Diaspora.

The conferences to be held under the title “Collaborative Investing by the Ethiopian Diaspora in the U.S.” are a continuation of the inaugural efforts began in Washington D.C which attracted notable media coverage and a significant number of attendees according to organizers.