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Ethiopian Airlines, Ethiopia’s flag carrier, announced the launch of nonstop flights to Seychelles from Addis Ababa beginning on the 1st April of 2012.

The airline is pleased to begin services to Seychelles famous for its beauty and the home of two UNESCO designated World Heritage Sites; the world’s largest raised coral atoll and Praslin’s Vallée de Mai, said to be the site of the original Garden of Eden according to Tewolde Gebremariam, Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian.

The year on year inflation rate in Ethiopia rose to 36.3% in February from 32% in January according to official statistics revealed yesterday.

As compared to the same month last year, food prices showed an increase of 47.4% while non food inflation showed an increase of 21.4%.

The main increase in food prices was seen in the prices of fruits and vegetables, cereals, pulses and spices according to the official agency.

Tikur Abay Construction SC, Ethiopia has been dissolved for persistent failure to turn a profit. Tikur Abay has incurred significant debt Wegagen Bank and the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia which are in the process of being called in as well as running at a loss for several years according to sources.

The decision to dissolve the state owned enterprise supported by government subsidies was reached by the Privatization and Public Enterprises Supervising Agency of Ethiopia six weeks ago.

The Ethiopia Commodity Exchange has lifted the minimum price limit of coffee to allow prices to adjust to the declining coffee prices on the New York Reference market.

As of last week the price of Arabica Coffee has shown the sharpest decline since last October of 2010 on the New York commodity future exchange market.

The price for Arabica registered last week was a 16 month low dropping to 1.8620 a pound.

The African Development Bank is to approve 100 million US dollars to finance the construction of a new hydro power in Ethiopia, this September according to Lamin G. Barrow, Ethiopia Country Office Resident Representative of the African Bank.

The hydro electric power project will consist of two power plants with a total potential capacity of producing 371 MW (1680 GWH) annually.

It is expected that the project will cost more than 400 million US dollars with the African Bank financing a quarter of the projected cost and the remainder being co-financed from other financial institutions.

Ethiopia expects to earn an estimated one billon US dollars from the export of textile goods by the end of the five year development plant according to Sileshi Lemma, Director General of the Textile Industry Development Institute.

All stakeholders in the textile sector including investors and the government have been exerting efforts to encourage the increase in export of textile goods explained Sileshi at a one day symposium held at the Addis Ababa Exhibition Center under the theme of 'Textile Industry and Its Prospects in Ethiopia'.

Ethiopian Airlines, Ethiopia’s flag carrier, was able to earn record operating revenues registering a growth of 50.4% in the first two quarters of the financial year according to Tewolde Gebremariam, Chief Executive Officer of the Airline.

The higher earning of the airline enabled it to absorb the 55% in increase and remain profitable in spite of a declining profit margin said Tewolde.

The growth registered by Ethiopia from July 8-Janury 9, the first six months of the Ethiopian financial year, is remarkable he said.

The Ethio-Italian Trade and Investment Forum expected to enhance bilateral business ties between Ethiopia and Italy was held last week in Rome according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The event was attended by more than 150 Italian and over 30 Ethiopian businesses noted the press release by the MoFA.

The opportunities that reside in the many unexploited natural resources of Ethiopia and the country's conducive investment and foreign trade policy were promoted by government officials attending the event.

The Revenues and Customs Authority of Ethiopia is dissatisfied with the annual inspection services offered to taxpayers by cash register suppliers. Cash register machines can fail in processing data transfers in the absence of appropriate servicing it was said.

ERCA has authorized about 11 companies’ to supply cash register machines on the local market. The suppliers are mandated to set up repair and maintenance facilities to offer annual inspections as per the arrangement with the tax authority.   

The regulations established by ERCA penalize taxpayers for falling to servicing their registers on an annual basis and yet only about a quarter of the 12,465 machines sold last year have been serviced this year.

Huwaei introduced a major mobile broadband technology program in Ethiopia over the last week. The company is committed to invest in the Ethiopian communications sector and is sure that it can bring new technology to the country.

Ethiopia companies are increasingly taking advantage of the benefits associated with ICT and local organizations are working in partnership with Huawei and other technology suppliers to realize the growing use of ICT in the country.