Day: June 9, 2023

The joint Chinese-Japanese metal industry, Woda Metal Industry Plc., told ENA that it plans to move a manufacturing center from China and supply products to Ethiopia and neighboring countries.

Woda Metal Industry, which entered the Ethiopian market in 2016, has started production of towers and cables for domestic market last year.

Its main products are steel tower and aluminum conductor cable as well as a facility for galvanization, which is the biggest in East Africa, Woda General Manager Steven Cui said.

The company has over 15 years tower manufacturing experience and is a global supplier to world-class telecom and power operators, it was learned.

In Ethiopia, the company has already invested around 32 million USD for building its own industrial park that will be completed with a capital of 95 million USD.

Upon going fully operational “we can save over 200 million USD for this country because we only import some raw materials. We are exporting today from China to the surrounding countries. So we can bring or manufacture here in Ethiopia and generate foreign currency. This is our plan.”

According to Cui, a lot of his friends want to invest in the same area.

“The market is very big and we want to invest more by ourselves, and also we want to bring more investment from other investor groups. So this is our motivation to build this industrial park.”

The general manager stated that the market is attractive not only for steel towers and cables, but also for other products like smart device, electrical vehicles, tracking systems, battery and the tire business.

The first reason, we came here is you have 120 million population and that also means the market is full of very young energetic working force, he noted, adding that this is one big potential.

“We promised to export at least 30 percent of our products. We are actually now exporting from the headquarters in China to Ethiopia, Kenya and to the whole east African countries. The reason we started from local is because this country needs products like tower and cable and imports 100 percent, before we start our production. That is very much cutting foreign currency from this country. So, first we have to stop that bleeding foreign currency.”

Commenting on the investment environment in the country, Cui said there is a lot of negative news on the internet. “However, I want to send the message to the investors to come and look.”

Noting that there are also challenges like everywhere, not only in Africa and not only in Ethiopia but also in the US and in Europe and everywhere; “I think if we choose the right path, the right direction, the right project, this country can be a very good place for investment.”

The general manager stressed that “we believe the next booming market will be right here” in Ethiopia.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Finance Minister Ahmed Shide said that Ethiopia would work to register 7.9 percent economic growth in the 2016 Fiscal year.

The minister explained to the House of People’s Representatives (HPR) the economic assumptions, the priorities of the nation’s economy as well as programs on Thursday.

Ahmed also pointed out that Ethiopia’s economy has been recording an average annual growth of 6.1 percent in the past years and it is expected to record a growth rate of 7.5 percent at the end of the current Ethiopian financial year.

Recall that the Council of Ministers referred this week 801.6-billion Birr budget for the Ethiopian fiscal year 2016 to the House of People’s Representatives.

Some 369.6 billion Birr has been allocated for recurrent expenditure, 203.9 billion Birr for capital expenditure, 214.07 billion Birr for regional states, and 14 billion Birr for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

The finance minister told the parliament that the forecast during the preparation of the budget was that the economy will record a growth rate of 7.9 percent in the fiscal year 2016.

By taking into account the growth projection of the economy, the basic expenses would be allocated to realize the plan, Ahmed stated.

According to him, the price of imported goods, which was 7.2 percent in 2015, is expected to grow to 18.9 percent in 2016.

When the draft budget was prepared, the minister noted that a strict monetary policy was employed by the medium-term plan, and an effort will be made to stabilize the current high inflation by limiting the supply of money.

The proposed budget for the next fiscal year has also been prepared by taking into consideration the second phase of the Home-grown Economic Growth Reform and forecast of the macro economy of the following year.

Moreover, the draft budget was prepared by taking into account the main fiscal goals, expenditure and revenue policies that the budget focuses on, the current macroeconomic situation and fiscal capacity, the minister elaborate.

As the direct loan taken from the National Bank of Ethiopia to cover budget deficit would show a significant decrease, corrective measures would be taken to collect the money injected into the economy through various loan methods in the past years, he said.

Speaking on the rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts of the nation, Ahmed stated that 20 billion Birr has been allocated from the government treasury to rebuild war-damaged infrastructures and to rebuild the community.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Ethiopia has earned over 83 million USD from electricity export to neighboring countries, Ethiopian Electric Power disclosed.

Ethiopian Electric Power Communication Director, Moges Mekonnen told ENA that out of the electricity generated in the past ten months of the Ethiopian Fiscal Year, 12126 Gigawatt has been sold.

The neighboring countries Djibouti, Kenya, and Sudan purchased the electric power.

The sales performance has shown 26 percent growth when compared to the same period last year.

The communication director stated that the country has also earned over 14 billion Birr from domestic power sales.

“Out of the generated electricity, we sold 12,126 GWh, which is close to 85 percent, and it shows 26 percent increase in GWh compared to last year. Early this year, we planned to earn 20.6 billion Birr, considering the energy we delivered to users. Domestic electricity sale reached 14.07 billion Birr.”

According to Moges, around 83.066 million USD was obtained from electricity sale to Kenya, Djibouti and Sudan.

Pointing out that electricity infrastructure damage and looting were rampant during the devastating war in the northern part of the country, he said the government has been successful in rebuilding and restoring electricity services in many parts of Ethiopia, working in cooperation with stakeholders and partners.

The communication director further pointed out that the completion of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) will especially be a great additional power source to fulfill the rapidly growing domestic demand and the demand from neighboring countries for electricity supply.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency