Chinese firms are investing millions in Ethiopia’s manufacturing sector
Reposted from the Financial Times
By William Wallis
Huajian, one of the largest shoe exporters in China, is planning a multimillion-dollar factory expansion in Ethiopia in a sign that Chinese manufacturers are starting to move to Africa to benefit from preferential trade tariffs and lower labour costs.
Ethiopia is signing a deal with China’s ZTE and Huawei to double mobile phone subscribers to 40 million
Reposted from Reuters
By Aaron Maasho
Ethiopia will sign agreements with China’s ZTE Corp and Huawei Technologies Co Ltd in a “few weeks” to expand its mobile phone infrastructure and double subscribers to 40 million, a senior Ethiopian official said on Thursday.
ZTE Corp, China’s second-largest telecoms equipment maker, has already been involved in developing phone and internet services in the Horn of Africa nation for several years. More…
Catalyst Principal Partners has acquired a 50% stake in an Ethiopian bottled water company
Reposted from Ethiosports
By Markos Berhanu
Catalyst Principal Partners, an East African-focused private equity firm, today announced the acquisition of a 50% stake in Yes Brands Food & Beverages PLC, Ethiopia.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Catalyst CEO Paul Kavuma said “Yes Brands is the leading bottled mineral water company in Ethiopia with a dominant brand and market share. Catalyst aims to build upon the company’s strength to accelerate growth of the business through enhanced operational capacity, deeper distribution and product innovation.” More…
Ethiopia is courting investment from the BRICS countries to build its rail networks
Reposted from Bloomberg
By William Davison
Ethiopia is negotiating with Brazil, Russia and India to finance and build rail links after agreeing terms last year with Chinese and Turkish companies for other routes, the head of the state rail company said.
Russia’s government may fund a 587-kilometer (365-mile) southern line that will eventually connect with a proposed port at Lamu on Kenya’s northeastern coast, Ethiopian Railways Corp. General Manager Getachew Betru said in an April 26 interview. Brazilian companies could build a 439-kilometer section of a route to oil-rich South Sudan and India is considering export financing for a line to a port in Djibouti, he said. More…
The Huajian Group has committed $2bn over the next decade to create a light manufacturing special economic zone in Ethiopia
Reposted from The Guardian
By Elissa Jobson
Helen Hai, vice-president of Chinese footwear manufacturer the Huajian Group, has a bold ambition. Within a decade, she wants Ethiopia to be a global hub for the shoe industry, supplying the African, European and American markets.
“We are not coming all the way here just to reduce our costs by 10 to 20%,” Hai says. “Our aim is in 10 years’ time to have a new cluster of shoe making here. We want to build a whole supply chain…I want everything to be produced here.” More…
Ethiopia and China have signed a $1 billion deal to further hydroelectric energy in the East African nation
Reposted from CapitalFM
Ethiopia signed a contract Friday worth nearly $1 billion with a Chinese energy company to build two transmission lines linking the country’s largest dam to the country’s central power grid.
The Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo.) signed the deal with China Electric Power Equipment and Technology Company (CET) in the Ethiopian capital. More…
Indian investors are setting up a denim manufacturing plant in Ethiopia
Reposted from Gulfnews.com
Kanoria African Textiles Plc, a subsidiary of India’s Kanoria Chemicals & Industries, is setting up a denim fabric manufacturing plant that will be a first for Ethiopia and East Africa and will create 350 jobs, mainly for Ethiopians.
This is one of the 577 projects on which Indian investors will be spending $52 billion in Ethiopia, according to data released by the Ethiopian Investment Agency (EIA). Of these, 152 are operational and have created 13,000 permanent and 98,000 temporary jobs across the country. Indian investors have been in the country since 1985. More…
African countries are boosting their sugar production and planning intercontinental trade
Reposted from Bloomberg Businessweek
By David Malingha Doya
An end to sugar quotas in the European Union, expected by the EU Council as early as 2017, may promote trade of the sweetener within Africa as Ethiopia and Nigeria plan to raise output, said Ecobank Transnational Ltd.
“There is a deficit of sugar in Africa, yet producers still export to Europe and import from Brazil,” Edward George, head of soft-commodities research at Ecobank, said in an April 17 interview in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. “This will change if and when Europe bans quotas.” More…
Ethiopia is seeking to attract export-driven manufacturers by building industrial zones
Reposted from Bloomberg Businessweek
By William Davison
Ethiopia will spend 900 million birr ($49 million) to open its first industrial hub for export- oriented manufacturers in a bid to deliver faster economic growth, Industry Minister Mekonnen Manyazewal said.
South Korean garment-makers are among companies in talks with the government about establishing operations at the planned site in the capital, Addis Ababa, Mekonnen said in an interview in the city on March 15. The facility is scheduled to open before the fiscal year ends on July 7, he said.
“This is one of the key strategies to facilitate and support foreign and domestic private-sector partners and particularly to enhance exports,” Mekonnen said. “It’s key for our industrialization.” More…
The IFC is launching a program to help improve the country’s investment and trade environment
Reposted from 2Merkato
By Meraf Leykun
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), member of the World Bank Group is to cooperate with the Ethiopian Ministry of Trade (MoT) and Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority (ERCA) to help improve the country’s investment and trade environment.
The Ministry of Trade will launch an electronic business licensing and trade registration system shortly, while Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority will consider to revise its laws. More…
