Industrial Corp Casts Sugar Factories Study

Sep 10 , 2023


The Industrial Projects Services (IPS) is set to conduct a study on Metehara, Wenji and Tana Beles sugar factories to address the broken supply chain, prompting officials of the three sugar factories to form an alliance with the Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC) last week. They hope to identify the gaps faced in the sugar factories in lulling production, productivity and constant phasing-out of machinery and a way to help them transition into a competitive and self-sufficient market. Ethiopia has had a long history with sugar production ever since Emperor Haile Selassie incentivised a Dutch company, HVA International, to construct Wenji and Metahara sugar factories nearly 70 years ago. The Industry projects services, with a wide range of experience of over 40 years will prepare a financial document along with a study of the gaps observed. The country has never become self-sufficient in sugar production despite attempts by three successive regimes including an ongoing privatisation bid for eight factories.


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 VAT a...


Radar

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...


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 Bulto,...