Ethiopian Airlines orders Africa’s first A350-1000

Ethiopian Airlines orders Africa’s first A350-1000 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 28 July 2022 – Ethiopian Airlines Group, the flag carrier of Ethiopia, Africa’s largest airline group, has upsized four of its A350-900 on order to the largest variant of the A350 Family, the A350-1000, becoming Africa’s first customer for the aircraft. Ethiopian Airlines has already ordered 22 A350-900s, of which 16 aircraft have been delivered. With the A350-1000 upsizing, Ethiopian Airlines’ backlog consists of four A350-1000s and two A350-900s. Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Mr. Mesfin Tasew said, “We are delighted over the upsizing of the A350-900 on order to the largest variant, A350-1000, that helps us stay ahead of the curve in technology. We are the technology leaders in the continent introducing the latest technology and fuel-efficient fleet into Africa. The A350-1000 is the best fit for our dense routes, and we believe that the upsizing will be instrumental in satisfying the increasing demand of customers in our vast global network across five continents. We will continue on keeping ourselves abreast of aviation technology advancements to enhance our service and fulfil customers’ demand.” ”We are proud of our strong partnership with Ethiopian Airlines – the first airline in Africa to order and operate the A350-900. In another first, Ethiopian Airlines is once again leading the way in Africa’s aviation sector by introducing the A350-1000, the largest version of the world’s most efficient and technologically advanced passenger aircraft.” said Mikail Houari, President, Airbus Africa and Middle East. “The A350-900 has delivered extraordinary capability, fuel efficiency, and operational reliability of 99.5 percent together with unbeatable operational flexibility and efficiency, from short to ultra-long-range operations.” The A350-1000 will increase the East African carrier’s capacity and it will be an addition to its modern wide-body fleet. The airline will benefit from a flexible, high-value Family leveraging Airbus’ unprecedented level of commonality and same type rating. The Airbus A350’s clean-sheet design features state-of-the-art aerodynamics, a carbon-fibre fuselage and wings, plus the most fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. Together, these latest technologies translate into unrivalled levels of operational efficiency and sustainability for Ethiopian Airlines, with a 25% reduction in fuel-burn and CO2 emissions compared to previous generation twin-aisle aircraft. By the end of June 2022, the A350 Family had received 940 orders from 52 customers, making it the reference large widebody family for the next decades. @Airbus @Ethiopianairlines #A350-900 #A350-1000 Tags ethiopian airlines

The total assets of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia reached 1.2 trillion birr

The total assets of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia reached 1.2 trillion birr Abe Sano, the bank’s president, announced that the total assets of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia have reached 1.2 trillion birr. It is understood from the report submitted by the president of the bank that the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, which is conducting the evaluation of the performance of the work plan for the 2014 (2021/22) fiscal year, has generally achieved a performance that is above or close to the plan. Mr. Abe Sano stated that the bank collected 154.9 billion birr in additional deposits in the fiscal year 2014 (2021/22), bringing the total deposits to 890.1 billion birr. He said that the bank made a profit of 27.5 billion birr in the fiscal year, which is 16.3 percent of the plan and 43.9 percent more than the same period last year. Mr. Abe explained that the bank has given 179.2 billion birr in loans to various sectors of the economy. Abe said that 2.6 billion dollars have been obtained from various sectors regarding the acquisition of foreign currency, and 7.7 billion dollars have been paid by the bank to various income items and others that have been given attention by the government. In an effort to extend the bank’s services to all sections of the society, 124 new branches were opened in the fiscal year, and the total number of branches of the bank reached 1824. Abe stated in his report that 35 percent of the accounting activities performed in the fiscal year were done through digital banking services in the bank’s efforts to reduce cash circulation by increasing the customer’s use of technology-assisted services. Mr. Abe, who stated that 2.9 million new accounts have been opened in the fiscal year, added that the total number of depositors of the bank has reached 35.9 million, according to the information we received from the bank. The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia Ato Teklewold Atnafu said that the bank has achieved encouraging results in various international and national challenges. Tags CBE cbe birr commercial bank of Ethiopia ethiopian news

Ethio Telecom earned 61.3 billion birr in the current fiscal year.

Ethio Telecom earned 61.3 billion birr in the current fiscal year. Ethio Telecom earned 61.3 billion birr in the current fiscal year.Mrs. Frehiwot Tamru stated that Ethio Telecom earned 61.3 billion birr in the fiscal year 2022. The CEO of Ethio Telecom said that the revenue compared to the plan is 87.6% and compared to the same period of last year, it is an increase of 8.5%. It is said that one of the reasons why the income was lower compared to the plan was that 3 thousand 473 mobile stations were unable to provide services due to the security problem in various parts of the country and the northern part of our country. However, in terms of the challenges faced, the performance is very encouraging, Mrs. Frehiwot said. Voice services account for 51 percent of the revenue, data and internet account for 27 percent, international revenue accounts for 10 percent, value-added services account for 5.7 percent, and other services account for 6.6 percent. The CEO said that Ethio Telecom has achieved 146.6 million US dollars or 82.3% of the plan from foreign exchange generating services. Ethio Telecom has reached 66.59 million customers, 64.5 million mobile voice customers, 506.8 thousand fixed broadband customers, 885.3 thousand landline customers, and 26.1 million data internet customers. Ms. Frehiwot mentioned that the company generated 18.8 billion birr in tax, 500 million birr in dividends and was consistently awarded as the highest tax payer in the last three years. They mentioned that the company has contributed 422.6 million birr in kind and services in order to fulfill its social responsibility, and 16.5 million birr has been provided in financial and material support to the economically disadvantaged sections of the society. Regarding the company’s performance, the CEO of Ethio Telecom Ms. Frehiwot Tamru said that from today, July 28 to August 2, 2022, from 6:01 am to 12:00 pm, 15 GB data, 45 minutes voice, 100 messages and 10 minutes international They announced a call gift. Tags ethiotelecom telebirr

Ethiopia and Kenya signed an agreement on the sale of electricity

Ethiopia and Kenya signed an agreement on the sale of electricity Ethiopia and Kenya have signed an electricity sales agreement today. The agreement was signed by the Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Ayob Tekelani and the President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta. According to Dr. Ayob in his social media page, the agreement allows Ethiopia to sell 200 megawatts of electricity to Kenya. He also pointed out that Ethiopia will work to increase the electricity sales to Kenya to 400 megawatts. Tags ethiopia business news ethiopia news ethiopian news

Ignore  BBC’s  Report  on  Debt  Crisis:  Borrow  from  the  West  Like  There  is  No  Tomorrow

Ignore  BBC’s  Report  on  Debt  Crisis:  Borrow  from  the  West  Like  There  is  No  Tomorrow Yonas  Biru,  PhD This  is  a  back  of  the  envelop  analysis  on  international  debt  to  show  BBC’s analysis of Ethiopia’s debt crisis  is  rubbish.  Our  intellectuals  are  better  advised  to  spend  their  energy  in  making  sure the  loans  in  question  are  used  properly  rather  than  doing  their  #NoMore  አቶቶ ቡቱቶ on  US  and European  streets. Ethiopia  should   borrow  from  Western   countries,   the   World  Bank   and  IMF   like   there  is   no tomorrow.  These  are  loans  that  come  without  collateral.  Countries  such  as  Ethiopia  get  a  near zero interest rate loans with a five-year grace period and 30-year term. PM Abiy was right to say “Borrowing  from  the  IMF  and  the  World  Bank  is  like  borrowing  from  one’s  mother.”  The  only loan  we  should  worry  about  is  from  China. Why  Ethiopia  Needs  to  be  Wary  of  Taking  Additional  Loans  from  China When  it  comes  to  development  loans,  China  uses  a  pawnshop  strategy.  Pawnshops  make  money from  desperate  individuals  who  turn  over  custody  of  their  valued  possessions  such  as  wedding rings  and  computers  with  valuable  data  as  collateral for  the  loan.  China  follows  the  same  strategy except for the fact that its borrowers are nations rather than individuals. Its collaterals come in the form  of  geopolitical  seaports,  flagship  national  airports,  oil  fields  and  strategic  rare  earth  mining projects. Once  it  traps  vulnerable  nations,  China  takes  advantage  of  Africa’s  economic  woes,  seeking  new collaterals as a condition to restructure debts at risk of defaulting. When Zambia owing China over $6  billion  had  difficulty  servicing  its  payment,  China  wanted  the  nation’s  mining  assets  as  new collateral  to  restructure  its  loans.  As  Financial  Times  noted,  the  Zambian  government  was  “alleged to have diverted donor funds meant for social sector spending to make debt repayments.” China’s  debt-trap  strategy  has  four  signature  schemes  that  makes  it  different  from  other  bilateral or  multilateral  loans  that  developing  countries  rely  on. First,  it’s  loans  to  developing  countries  are  kept  confidential.  They  are  neither  reported  to  nor recorded  by  international  institutions  such  as  the International  Monetary  Fund  (IMF);  the World Bank;  or  the  Paris  Club,  an  organization  of  creditor  nations. Second,  China’s  preferred  clients are countries with rampant  corruption.  A study by the Brookings Institution  shows  that  of  the  50  most  indebted  countries  to  China,  25  are  from  Sub  Saharan  Africa (SSA).  A  closer  look  at  the  data  indicates,  of  the  25  SSA  countries,  23  are  listed  in  the  top  half  of Transparency International’s corruption ranking, including South Sudan, the Republic of the Sudan and  Angola,  ranked  second,  forth,  and  fifth  most  corrupt  nations  in  the  world,  respectively. Third, data  from  the  IMF  shows  China’s  loans  are  geared  toward  countries  that  have  historically been  vulnerable  to  debt  crises.  Of  the  50  countries  in  the  Brookings’  above-noted  list,  a  large majority of them were countries who suffered debt crisis in the 1990s and received international debt  forgiveness. Fourth,  Chinese  loans  are  based  on  market  rates  with  short  payment  periods,  leading  to  larger annual  repayments  and  resultant  defaults.  By  contrast,  traditional  loans  by  institutions  such  as  the World  Bank,  IMF,  and  members  of  the  Paris  Club  carry  near  zero  interest  rates  and  are  further buttressed  with  generous  grace  periods  and  long  payment  plans  of  up  to  30  years  to  make  them easier  to  service. This  is  what  happens  when  you  borrow  from  the  West/World  Bank/IMF. They  lend  you knowing  full  well  that  you  will  not  be  able  to  pay  it  back.  Then  they  lend  you more, so you can service your outstanding loans. If you still cannot pay it, they will lend you once again.  That  is  when  it  gets  interesting.  Self-anointed  members  of  the  West’s  moral  police,  who see  themselves  as  the  conscious  of  the  West,  start  to  speak  up  against  international  debt  burden on   poor   countries.   They   use   pictures   of   starving   African   children   and   shame   the   West   for demanding   debt   payments.   We   are   talking   about   Liberals,   Millennials,   Gen   Zs,   International Development  NGOs,  and  Religious  Activists.  Sometimes  even  communist  leftovers  sneak  in  as  a moral  voice.  They  start  making  noise  calling  for  debt  forgiveness or  debt  restructuring. Debt  forgiveness  and  debt  restructuring  allows  nations  facing  financial  problems  to  eliminate, reduce  and/or  renegotiate  their  delinquent  debts  to  improve  their  credit  worthiness  so  they  can continue  to  borrow  more. That  is  when  the  West  and  the  World  Bank  and  IMF  come  with  more generous  loans with  near  zero  interest  rates,  five-year  grace  period  and  30-year  term  loans.  As long  as  Liberals,  Millennials,  Gen  Zs,  Religious  Activists  and  Communist  Leftovers  exist,  the  cycle will  repeat  itself. The good thing for countries such as Ethiopia is that Gen Zs are even more liberal than Millennials. Trust  me  I  know  this  firsthand.  My  youngest  is  a  member  of  the  Gen  Z  generation.  She  makes her  older  siblings (Millennials  and  high-octane  liberals)  look  like  Trump  supporters. In  conclusion,  we  should  not  prepare  complicated  economic  tables  and  graphs  to  link  debt  with economic stagnation and being dependent on Western nations.  Just keep on borrowing until they stop  lending  you.  Do  not  complicate  a  very  simple  thing.  Take  all  the  loan  they  give  you  and  file for  a  new  loan  the  next  day.  Spend  your  energy  to  make  sure  the  loan  money  is  used  for development.

Ethiopia records more remittances from diaspora

Ethiopia records more remittances from diaspora Ethiopian diaspora remittances reached 4.2 billion U.S. dollars during the Ethiopian 2021/2022 fiscal year that ended on July 7, said authorities. Mohammed Idris, the deputy director of the Ethiopian Diaspora Agency, said Friday that the remittances recorded during the past fiscal year exceeded the target set for the period by 200 million U.S. dollars.The Ethiopian diaspora remitted 3.6 billion U.S. dollars in the 2020/2021 fiscal year. Idris said his agency was also able to attract investments from 1,800 members of the Ethiopian diaspora during the 2021/2022 fiscal year, reported state media outlet Ethiopia News Agency (ENA). The deputy director also said members of the Ethiopian diaspora contributed 28 million U.S. dollars worth of assistance to rehabilitate parts of the country hit by both manmade and natural calamities during the just concluded fiscal year. Ethiopia Diaspora Agency is a government entity that aims to boost the diaspora’s role by creating a community that is Ethiopia’s pride and partner in development. There are about 3 million plus people of Ethiopian origin globally, mainly residing in Southern Africa and Middle Eastern, European. and North American countries. (ANI/Xinhua) Tags commercial bank of Ethiopia

Tsehay Bank has officially started its operations

Tsehay Bank has officially started its operations Tsehay Bank has officially started its operations. National Bank Governor Dr. Yinagar Dese, the bank’s board leaders and invited guests were present at the bank’s launch program. The governor of the National Bank, Mr. Yinager Dese, said that the changes that have been taking place in the past four years in terms of new banks joining the market are of great importance in terms of making banking work recognized in the community. He said that it is a great opportunity for private banks to enter the market in this way in order to make banking access to the rural community in an efficient way, so we should focus on making it accessible in a proper way. In addition, they stressed that preparations are being made for foreign banks to enter the country and that the competition will not be easy for local banks, so they should work hard. The bank started its operations with 2.9 billion birr signed capital and 734 million birr paid up capital. Yared Mesfen, the executive director of the bank, said that the bank has completed the preliminary preparations and started working by establishing regular banking services and interest-free banking services as well as digital banking services. It was pointed out that Tsehay Bank has started operations today with 30 branches and plans to reach 100 branches this year. Tags Tsehay Bank Tsehay Bank Branches

Ethiopian Airlines To Serve Zürich This Winter

Ethiopian Airlines To Serve Zürich This Winter Zürich will be served by Ethiopian Airlines from October, bringing to 16 its European passenger route network this winter. It comes as many of the Star Alliance member’s European routes change, mainly in terms of where they stop en route. Ethiopian adds Zürich Ethiopian will begin Zürich on October 31st. It’ll operate via Milan Malpensa in both directions. Like other European routes, Ethiopian will remain on the ground in Zürich all day to increase Africa-wide connections. This also enables aircraft to be wet-leased on a daily basis. Zürich will have flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. It’ll be served by 315-seat B787-9s, with 30 in business and 285 in economy. The schedule is as follows, with all times local. It won’t have fifth freedom traffic rights: Addis Ababa to Milan Malpensa: ET736, 00:15-04:50 Milan Malpensa to Zürich: ET736, 05:50-07:00 Zürich to Milan Malpensa: ET737, 20:30-21:40 Milan Malpensa to Addis Ababa: ET737, 22:30-07:05+1 Ethiopian will target the roughly 169,000 passengers that booking data shows traveled between Zürich and Africa in 2019. That excludes North Africa for circuity reasons and those who flew non-stop with SWISS as they’re unlikely to switch to a far less competitive two-stop option. Cape Town, Johannesburg, Windhoek, Seychelles, and Mombasa were the five largest markets. Multiple other European changes This winter, Brussels will be a so-called terminator service, whereby it won’t continue to Manchester. It’ll now be dependent on Brussels origin and destination traffic. It must be confident of filling the aircraft. If it doesn’t, loads, yields, and performance will reduce. The changes are summarized below: h on October 31st. It’ll operate via Milan Malpensa in both directions. Like other European routes, Ethiopian will remain on the ground in Zürich all day to increase Africa-wide connections. This also enables aircraft to be wet-leased on a daily basis. Zürich will have flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. It’ll be served by 315-seat B787-9s, with 30 in business and 285 in economy. The schedule is as follows, with all times local. It won’t have fifth freedom traffic rights: Addis Ababa to Milan Malpensa: ET736, 00:15-04:50 Milan Malpensa to Zürich: ET736, 05:50-07:00 Zürich to Milan Malpensa: ET737, 20:30-21:40 Milan Malpensa to Addis Ababa: ET737, 22:30-07:05+1 Ethiopian will target the roughly 169,000 passengers that booking data shows traveled between Zürich and Africa in 2019. That excludes North Africa for circuity reasons and those who flew non-stop with SWISS as they’re unlikely to switch to a far less competitive two-stop option. Cape Town, Johannesburg, Windhoek, Seychelles, and Mombasa were the five largest markets. Multiple other European changes This winter, Brussels will be a so-called terminator service, whereby it won’t continue to Manchester. It’ll now be dependent on Brussels origin and destination traffic. It must be confident of filling the aircraft. If it doesn’t, loads, yields, and performance will reduce. The changes are summarized below: Addis Ababa-Brussels: 1x daily; no longer extending to Manchester, so 3x weekly terminator service (B787-9, A350-900), 4x weekly via Vienna (B787-9, B777-200LR) Addis Ababa-Manchester: will route via Geneva rather than Brussels; 4x weekly (B787-9) Addis Ababa-Milan: will be 1x daily non-stop rather than 1x daily via Rome; 4x weekly will be a terminator service (B777-200LR), 3x will continue to Zürich (B787-9) Addis Ababa-Rome: 1x daily will no longer continue to Milan; 4x weekly will be a terminator service (B777-200LR), 3x weekly will continue to Marseille (B777-200LR) Addis Ababa-Marseille: will route via Rome than Geneva; 3x weekly (B777-200LR) Tags ethiopian airlines

Statement by President Biden on the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit

Statement by President Biden on the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit I look forward to hosting leaders from across the African continent in Washington, DC on December 13-15, 2022, for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit.  The Summit will demonstrate the United States’ enduring commitment to Africa, and will underscore the importance of U.S.-Africa relations and increased cooperation on shared global priorities. The U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit will build on our shared values to better foster new economic engagement; reinforce the U.S.-Africa commitment to democracy and human rights; mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and of future pandemics; work collaboratively to strengthen regional and global health; promote food security; advance peace and security; respond to the climate crisis; and amplify diaspora ties. I look forward to working with African governments, civil society, diaspora communities across the United States, and the private sector to continue strengthening our shared vision for the future of U.S.-Africa relations.