Port Rebrands as New Terminal Launches


Port Rebrands as New Terminal Launches

The dry port terminal at Dire Dewa city commenced last week with a 3.5 billion Br budget. Formerly referred to as Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Enterprise(ESLE) the institution has also rebranded its name and logo to Ethiopian Shipping & Logistics (ESL). The dry port lies on 34.1hct and has the capacity to carry 128,000 containers annually comprising office buildings, a warehouse, a container terminal, and 10hct of internal concrete road. Officials disclosed that the port would create a seamless cargo operation with an advantageous location near the Djibouti border connecting to the Ethio-Djibouti railway to create a seamless rail cargo operation. ESL bagged 19.4 billion Br in revenues in the first half of the fiscal year, generating a total profit of 2.2 billion Br. A total of 850,000tns freight has been transported while 4,500 containers were exported to Djibouti ports. The CEO, Roba Megersa said it was possible to commence 2.4 million operational services, a 104pc increase from what the enterprise anticipated. Roba said freights imported from Djibouti in the last six months have exhibited a 12.8pc decline compared to the previous years because of the ban on imported goods.


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...


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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...


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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...