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Ethiopia’s economy may double in size over the next nine years, African Development Bank Chief Economist Mthuli Ncube said in a speech in Johannesburg today. Ncube predicted that Ethiopia’s economy mig

ht expand 10 percent this year and East Africa would expand by about 6.7 percent in 2011 and 2012.

Ncube’s prediction stands in contrast to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) prediction, made on 30 May 2011, of lower economic growth at 6 percent for Ethiopia in the 2011/12 fiscal year.

Tullow Oil, a British company, which recently launched oil exploration activities in the South Omo valley, hired BGP Geo Services PLC, a Chinese company, to carry out a seismic survey in the concession area.

Tullow Oil started the oil exploration work in the South Omo valley after it bought a 50 percent stake in the South Omo valley from Africa Oil.

The Ministry of Trade said Friday that Ethiopia earned more than 2.4 billion dollars from the export sector over the last 11 months.

Amakele Yimam, director of public relations and communications directorate, said that the income was greater than that of the same period last fiscal year by 693.9 million dollars. However, he said that the amount fell short of the ministry's projection for the period which was 2.9 billion dollars.

Lawmakers are scheduled to vote next on 5 July 2011 on the proposed 39 percent increase in the budget for projects targeting the improvement of food security and infrastructure programs, an official of the Ministry of Finance said.

Mauritius leads Africa    

Ethiopia ranked 121st out of 125 countries on the fifth annual Global Innovation Index released by the INSEAD business school. European countries dominated the top 11 economies on the list, and more than half of them are in the northern regions of the continent.

The House of Peoples' Representatives yesterday authorised the National Payment System bill drafted by the Budgetary and Financial Affairs Standing Committee.

The bill was endorsed taking into consideration the significance of legal framework supporting the payment system in the country.

Earns $3 mln from export, plans cotton production on 30,000 ha   

Else Addis Industrial Development P.L.C, a textile factory, announced that it had started exporting textile products to different countries around the world.

The first time the company exported its textile products was in March. It exported textile products to the United States, Russia, Ukraine and the Far East countries, Dilek Durular, project coordinator of the company, said. 

Abu Thiyab Holdings Co, a Saudi company, announced that it was poised to inaugurate its water bottling plant in September 2011 in its factory in Ethiopia. The construction of the plant in Gelan, a 35 million birr investment on three hectares of land 35 km east of Addis Ababa, is almost finished.

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.