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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

Over 1,600 kg of gold was supplied to the central market from Guji Zone of the Oromia Regional State over the last nine months, Mines Office of the zone said.

The amount exceeds the set target by 100 kg and that of the same period last year by 549 kg, Mekonnen Lema, head of Mines Development Administration Office, said.

The cooperatives in Guji, which supplied the 1,600 kg of gold to central market this year, are preparing to supply more than 2,000 kg of gold to the market for the coming fiscal year.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Ethiopia has earned more than 2.4 billion dollars in foreign exchange over the last 11 months meeting 82 percent of the plan, the Ministry of Trade said while presenting this year’s performance report to the Trade Affairs Standing Committee of the House of Peoples' Representatives. 

Source: ERTA    

Ethiopian Coffee Exporters' Association (ECEA) and the Chinese Guangzhou Coffee Association (GCA) signed yesterday a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the promotion of the Ethiopian coffee brand in the emerging market of China.

The MoU was signed by Emebet Tafesse, vice president of ECEA, and Lin Guangchao, chairman of GCA, during a ceremony held in the ECEAconference hall.

The MoU is designed to create a joint partnership between the Ethiopian Coffee Exporters' Association and the Guangzhou Coffee Association for the purpose of encouraging coffee consumption and culture.

The ECEA statement said that the two associations had agreed to assist Ethiopian coffee exporters and Chinese coffee importers to come together and promote coffee trade and investment between citizens of the two countries.

The MoU includes for the two associations activities like organizing and carrying out coffee-related researches and promotional programs.

Source: Walta Information Centre

The price of food rose to 40.7 percent in May from 32.2 percent in April according to Central Statistical Agency’s (CSA) consumer price index released on Tuesday, 14 June 2011.

Food price was deflating at the beginning of the current fiscal year. But since September prices have been escalating after the birr was devaluated against the dollar by 17 percent. The overall annual year on year inflation has now reached the two-year mark.

After assessing the situation in Ethiopia, the International Monetary Fund mission three weeks ago said that rising prices would slowdown the country’s economic growth. IMF’s prediction put Ethiopia’s economic growth for the coming fiscal year at around six percent which contrasts with the government’s estimate of 11 percent.

Source: Capital

Adami Tulu Pesticide Processing SC is scheduled to inaugurate mosquito nets and herbicides factories built at a total cost of 26 million birr in August.

The factories will be constructed by Adami Tulu, a government owned company established in 1998, near Ziway, Oromia Regional State, at a cost of 40.5 million birr.

The machinery for the mosquito net factory was imported from China. It is expected that the factory will save Ethiopia 4.5 million dollars, which accounts for about 40 percent of the cost of importing mosquito nets annually.

"When it reaches full capacity, the factory will produce all three million mosquito nets thereby saving the country up to 14 million dollars in foreign currency with the expertise and technological knowhow from the Chinese company," Samuel Samuel Halala, general manager of Adami Tulu, said.

The factory will buy emulsifiers and mineral fillers locally, while it will import other raw materials like active ingredients for pesticide production.

Adami Tulu had planned to make 154 million birr this fiscal year; however, it collected 97 million birr over the last 10 months. In the planting season, however, it expects to earn more than the target in the coming two months.

Source: Fortune