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Commercial Bank of Ethiopia signed an agreement for International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) to build a platform to deliver electronic banking services, as the bank intends to use new technology for the expansion of its business.

The expanded Messebo Cement Factory was inaugurated on Saturday, 25 June 2011. About 2.3 billion birr was spent on the expansion project.

ith the expansion project alone, the factory can produce 3,000 tonnes of cement a day and 1.3 million tonnes a year. Therefore the factory’s production capacity grows to 2.2 billion tonnes a year, according to Hatsey Berhe, general manager of Messebo Cement Factory.

Canaco Resources said this week that its shareholders had approved of the spin-out of Tigray Resources Inc. Part of the transaction will be the transfer of 4 million dollars and Canaco's 70 percent interest in the Harvest Mining PLC, which owns the Harvest VMS Project in Ethiopia, to Tigray. Sufficient funds will also be transfered for the recommended first phase drill program.

The Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority's (ERCA) Large Taxpayers and Western Addis Ababa branch offices are relocating this month from the headquarters building of the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Association to the authority's former headquarters at Beklo Bet.

The Large Taxpayers and Western Addis Ababa branch offices of the ERCA have been occupying five floors of the Chamber's building.

ERCA's central server for the registration of daily sales coming from customers' cash register machines had been installed in the Chamber's building in front of the Mexico Square. The central cash register machine server will move to the authority's current headquarters at Megenagna, officials said.

South Korean President Lee Myung Bak is scheduled to visit Ethiopia, South Africa and Democratic Republic of Congo from July 2 through July 11. The president will visit Ethiopia on July 8.

He is expected to discuss ways to expand cooperation with Ethiopia and the other African countries over various areas like nuclear power, energy and raw materials, his office said in a statement today.

Stratex announced today that AngloGold Ashanti, the world's third-largest gold producer, was taking an 11.5 percent share in Stratex Internationl Plc. The funds will be used for speeding up gold exploration in the Afar Epithermal gold province in Ethiopia and Djibouti.

AngloGold will make a 3 million pound private placement into Stratex.

Ethiopia signed a 590 million dollar grant and loan agreement with France to boost water and energy projects, as well as for the construction of electricity transmission lines with Kenya, the Embassy of France in Ethiopia said.

The agreement will enable the French Development Agency to develop water and sanitation schemes and support the management of geothermal and windmill projects.

M-Birr Limited, an Irish company, announced last week that it had concluded an deal with the National Bank of Ethiopia and Ethio Telecom to start providing mobile banking solution to financial institutions through M-Birr ICT Services Plc, its subsidiary Ethiopia.

M-Birr will install two huge data centres here which will support and streamline the mobile banking services. M-Birr will also train the staffs of financial institutions for which it will provide the services, Thierry  Artaud, CEO of M-Birr Limited and general manager of M-Birr ICT services Plc, said.

The mobile banking service, also known as SMS banking or M-banking, allows clients to check their balance, make transaction and payments from their accounts, and perform credit application and other banking transactions from their cell phones.

M-Birr has signed a memorandum of understanding with five micro-financial institutions like Dedebit. It will also hold talks with private and state-owned banks to provide them with the latest technology in the banking sector, according to Artaud.

The company will launch the project with an initial investment of 1.5 million euro.

The partly implemented National Payment System in the country is said to be ideal in supporting and streamlining such services as mobile banking among financial institutions.

Source: The Reporter

Syrah Resources concluded a deal with Aramis Resources Limited for the acquisition of an 80 percent interest in three large projects of gold exploration in Ethiopian.

Syrah will acquire the stake through paying 1.5 million dollars in three instalments spread over two years, issuing 25 million shares and up to 5 million options, and the expenditure of 2.5 million dollars on the projects within 3 years.

Syrah will explore 2,000 sq km of prime ground and get access to various assets with mineral exposure.
The ground consists of three project areas at Moyale, Nejo and Dawa which are all found close to areas of significant gold mineralisation in southern and western Ethiopia.

Moyale contains one granted tenement covering 440 sq km. 

The Dawa Project contains two granted tenements covering 1,000 sq km south of Lega Dembi Mine in southern Ethiopia. Gold production at Lega Dembi is reported to have hit 3 million ounces over the last two decades and it is still producing more than 100,000 ounces annually.

The Nejo project contains four granted tenements covering 771 square kilometres in the western part of the country, north of Nyota Minerals Limited's Tulu Kapi Project (currently 1.2 million ounces in resources).

Small areas of high grade mineralisation associated with quartz veins in intrusives have been mined at a small scale on the licence at the Chamuk Prospect. Drilling has proven that there is good potential for resources to be outlined.

Syrah Resources shares climbed 31.25 percent to 0.105 dollars in intraday trading today.

Source: Proactive Investors  

Ethiopia concluded a 337 million euro loan agreement with the government of France yesterday.

The government of France offered 70 million of the 337 million as a grant and the balance as a loan.

The money is intended to be used to finance the country’s five-year Growth and Transformation Plan, especially development programs in the energy, urban infrastructure, agriculture as well as water and sanitation sectors.

Source: Walta Information Centre