Sugar Factories Target Private Investors

Mar 4 , 2023


Over 20 investors have shown interest in acquiring eight sugar factories after officials floated a bid to fully privatize the state-owned businesses. Ethiopian Investment holdings with the Ministry of Finance floated an international bid last August to privatize the four sets of Omo Kurazs, Arjo Dedessa, Kessem, Tana Beles, and Tendaho sugar factories. According to officials, the initiative is one of the efforts to transition the factories into a competitive market structure and strengthen private sector growth. The interested bidders are yet to be disclosed, according to officials at the Ministry. Omo Kuraz II and III, built by a state-owned Chinese firm, China National Complete Plant Import Export Corporation (COMPLANT), have begun production. Erected at the cost of 290 million dollars, the Omo-Kuraz III plant in the Southwestern Regional State, 900km from the capital has a daily production capacity of 10,000qtl of sugar. Omo Kuraz V has been on hold as the primary creditor stalled loan disbursements to the contractor, Jianglian International Engineering Co. (JJIEC). The factory is part of a set of four sugar estates under development designed to process 24,000qtls of sugar cane per day in the Omo Basin. Ethiopia has had a contentious 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 country has never become self-sufficient in sugar production despite attempts by three successive regimes. Efforts to fix the broken supply chain of sugar have been several, including the ongoing effort to privatise.


Radar

Abyssinia Bank Strategic Moves Pay Off, Driving Profit Growth

The Bank of Abyssinia (BoA) enjoyed another profitable year, amassing 4.23 billion Br net profits, an increase of 10.5pc from last year. The Bank announced total assets of 222.3 billion Br, surging by 17.3pc. Total deposits mobilised through the year climbed by 33.97 billion Br to 192.51 billion Br, while loans and advances reached 167.7 billion Br. However, the bank exhibited a nominal decline in its foreign currency earnings totalling 424 million dollars. Earnings per share also showed a ma...


Radar

$100m Project Mulls Public Transportation Make-Over

A 100-million-dollar project aims to manufacture over 5,000 diesel-powered and electric public transport vehicles for the capital. The proposed project was launched hoping to replace the ageing vehicles and improve safety, efficiency and quality across the city's urban transport system. Last week saw an MoU inked between executives of Multiverse Enterprise Plc and Addis Abeba Minibus Associations and was held at Vamdas Entertainment near Megenagna. The agreement includes plans to replace 15,000...


Radar

Safaricom Soars with 6.1 million Customers

Safaricom Ethiopia reported significant commercial growth in the first six months of the 2025 fiscal year (April to September 2024), with notable increases in both mobile (GSM) and M-PESA services. The company's network and services reached a population coverage of 46pc, growing from 30pc in the previous year. This expansion was supported by the addition of over 1,000 network sites, bringing the total to more than 3,000 across the country. Safaricom Ethiopia saw a surge in its customer base,...


Back
WhatsApp
Telegram
Email