Chinese Institution Covets Bamboo Development


Ethiopia aspires to develop the bamboo industry through technology, research, and training partnering with China’s Nanjing Forestry University last week. Officials at the Ethiopian Forestry Development said that the industry remains underdeveloped considering the large resources available with 1.47 million hectares of bamboo forest. Average exports of bamboo products only accounted for 0.02pc of global exports, proving that the country has not used it even to its minimal potential. According to the Bamboo World Map report, the lack of skills in bamboo management and the absence of technologies to increase lifespan and upgrade the production chain has made the country incur a low economic return. China’s bamboo forest area and accumulation are among the leading in the world. It has more than 6.67 million hectares of bamboo forests with an annual output value of the industry projected to exceed 110 billion dollars in 2025.


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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 VAT a...


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World Bank Greases Financial Overhaul

The World Bank approved 700 million dollars in credit from the International Development Association (IDA) to scale up support for the financial sector. The funds are targeted at modernizing the regulatory and supervisory framework of the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), supporting governance reforms, balance sheet restructuring, and recapitalization of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), and transforming the Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE) into a sustainable development finance institutio...


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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 Bulto,...