2merkato

Ethiopia has received 1.69 billion US dollars in loans and grants in the last six months of the current budget year said Tewdros Adhanom, Ethiopian Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Most of the financing, an estimated 1.04 billion, was obtained from bilateral sources and the remaining funds from multilateral financial sources he said in his report to the House of Peoples Representatives.

The nation has also acquired 976.8 million US dollars from donors and creditors in this period according to Tewdros.

Ethiopia has received an 80 million dollar soft loan for a project to construct and expand electric power transmission lines from EDCF, South Korean state bank announced the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation.

The loan agreement will be signed between the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and a representative of the Korean government here in Addis Ababa soon.

The project is an expansion of the Beles-Bahir Dar- Sululta transmission line stretching from Debremarkos-Gebreguracha-Sululuta over 212 KM and carrying 400 KV explained Misikir Negash Head of Corporate Communications with the EEPCo.

Ethiopia has been named the top travel destinations of 2015 by the Russian branch of the National Geographic Traveler magazine, according to Ethiopian News Agency.

Ethiopia emerges as the largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in East Africa, said a new report from the global financial consulting firm EY.

The Revenue and Customs Authority of Ethiopia has announced the reduction of the 20 million birr capital requirement set for IT companies interested in supplying electronic cargo devices to 5 million birr.

ERCA reevaluated the former directive which required a company to have 20 million birr in capital, a five year contract with a major IT supplier, and present a performance bond worth 2 million birr to certify as a vendor for the tracking devices as many in the domestic IT sector protested the criteria.

The current amendment to the directive not only lowers the capital requirements by 75% but it also allows assets of the company to be considered as capital. ERCA also offered a bank guarantee of a similar value as an alternative to the 2 million birr insurance bond required by the directive.