2merkato

The volume of commodities exchanged via the Ethiopian Commodities Exchange (ECX) exceeded 500,278 tonnes in 2003. It was announced yesterday that trading for this last Ethiopian fiscal year has shown an increase of 128% over the 223,000 tonnes traded last year, in a report given by Dr. Eleni Gebre Medhin, CEO of ECX at the Sheraton Addis.

The commodities exchange market saw a marked increase in trade and sound financial showing to match expanding operations in 2003 (Ethiopian Calendar) said Dr. Eleni.

The volume of loans mobilized by the Development Bank of Ethiopia during the just ended Ethiopian budget year showed an increase of 44% against what it had mobilized in the previous year said Isayas Berhe, President of DBE.

The board of the bank had approved a 7.5 billion loan for the year in review and the bank has managed to mobilize 70% of the total that was approved.

The bank has been able to mobilize more than 5.5 billion birr during the reporting period with the 1.5 billion birr loaned to Habesha Cement being the single largest loan arrangement for the year. 90% of loans that were disbursed by the bank went to local companies.

Volkswagen (VW) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ethiopian government with the intent to “collaborate and deliver a joint vision for the development of an automotive industry in the country.”

WAFA Marketing & Promotion PLC in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jetro and the Ethiopian Embassy in Japan are joining hands to organizing a trade and investment forum in Tokyo, Japan on June 2, 2013.

The Forum which is said to strengthen the the Ethio-Japan trade relations is expected to draw the participation of more than 45 Ethiopian businesses in the coffee, floriculture, grains, and leather sector.

The Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank approved the Eastern Electricity Highway project designed to link Kenya onto Ethiopia’s electrical grid with the aim of allowing power sharing between the two countries.

The World Bank will give 243 million US dollars to Ethiopia and 441 Million US dollars to Kenya from the International Development Association, a fund intended for the poorest countries in the world.

The project is part of the first phase of a program that is planned to implement power integration in the East African region which will ultimately cost an estimated 1.3 billion US dollars and benefit 212 million people living in five regional countries.