Corporation Calls on Suppliers for 200,000tn Sugar Procurement


Corporation Calls on Suppliers for 200,000tn Sugar Procurement

Executives of the Ethiopian Sugar Corporation have taken steps to procure 200,000tn of sugar from international suppliers. The Corporation had invited shortlisted companies to submit offers, after an attempt to procure the sugar through an international tender went awry. However, officials at the Ministry of Finance instructed its executives to scrap the invitation and proceed to float a second bid. The shortlisted suppliers have also been invited to take part in the bidding process. The Corporation is set to be replaced by the Ethiopian Sugar Industry Group, which has been established by the federal government with 115 billion Br in capital. Five state-owned sugar estates are the Group's founding shareholders. The operational estates have a combined production capacity of nearly four million tonnes a year, short of 3.2 million quintals in domestic demand. The Group has the mandate to manage the operations of the three oldest sugar factories – Wonji, Metehara, and Fincha – and the newly-built Kesem and Tana Beles plants. It also has the mandate to monitor the activities of the eight state-owned sugar plants under construction.


Radar

Electricity Bills Get the VAT Jolt

The new Value Added Tax (VAT) has begun implementation on electricity consumption and various service fees affecting customers who use more than 200 kilowatt hours of electricity per month. Based on a directive from the Ministry of Finance, the tax will be applied to the excess amount of electricity consumption above 200 kilowatt hours. The Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU) began implementing the VAT on bills starting from November though both prepaid and postpaid customers will have to pay V...


Radar

Gadaa Bank Expands Reach, Faces Lending Constraints

Gadaa Bank closed its first full fiscal year of operations with a net profit of 90.2 million Br. The 18-month-old Bank held its annual general assembly at Millenium Hall on Africa Avenue last week where the board announced that during the year, the Bank opened 15 branches and now has 85 operational branches. “Due to recently enacted policy measures on credit by NBE and unmet resource mobilization during the fiscal year, the Bank was unable to make loan disbursements,” stated Wolde...


Radar

Oromia Bank's Branch Expansion Weighs on Profits

Oromia Bank reported a 47pc decline in net profit to take in 840.9 million Br for the past fiscal year. Interest income grew by 21pc to reach 7.19 billion Br while personnel expense grew by 36pc to hit 3.16 billion Br. The opening of 72 new branches, bringing the total to 575, led to a four percent growth of deposits to 56.4 billion Br. The profits are “unsatisfactory against our ambitious moves,” said Assefa Seme (PhD), board chairperson. “The deviation is primarily attributed to our aggr...