Chinese Companies to Source Ethiopian Coffee

Jan 9 , 2021


Two Chinese Companies signed an agreement to purchase Ethiopian coffee beans earlier this week. The companies pledged to buy 2,000tn of coffee annually between 2021 and 2023, according to the agreement. The Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement, signed at the Ethiopian embassy in Beijing, was attended by representatives of the two companies: Jinyi Guo, (PhD), chairperson and CEO of Luckin Coffee; Jerrity Chen, Regional CEO of Louis Dreyfus Company for North Asia; and Teshome Toga, Ethiopian ambassador to China. Luckin, a Chinese coffee company and coffeehouse chain, was founded in Beijing in 2017, while Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) is a global merchant and processor of agricultural goods established in 1851. Just last month, Luckin had agreed to a 180-million-dollar settlement after defrauding investors by the United States Securities & Exchange Commission. Its stock was subsequently delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market.


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...