The Ethiopian Insurance Corporation (EIC) says it will open its first foreign based branch in Juba town, making it the second state-owned financial firm to start business in the South Sudan’s capital after Ethiopia’s national commercial bank. EIC Managing Director Yewondwosen Eteffa, presenting its annual report, said that his company is making final preparations to [...]

The Ethiopian birr ETB= was devalued by 16.7 percent on Wednesday, according to exchange rates published on the central bank’s website, a move welcomed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The birr was quoted by the National Bank of Ethiopia at a weighted average of 16.3514 against the dollar compared with 13.6284 on Tuesday. A [...]

The finance minister for the semi-autonomous region of Southern Sudan said on Monday that the government there is running short in foreign currency because of Khartoum remitting the South’s share of oil revenue in local currency. David Deng Athorbei, the regional minister of finance and economic planning, who made the revelation said the move by [...]

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has commended Ethiopia’s stable and fast economic growth registered over the past seven consecutive years. In an exclusive interview he held with WIC, IMF Resident Representative in Ethiopia, Sukhwinder Singh, said IMF is very pleased with the comprehensive and strong economic growth registered during the past years. Singh said IMF [...]

The recent financial crisis and recession have been a worldwide occurrence. The events in the United States since 2008 have garnered most of the headlines because the U. S. has the world’s largest economy and national debt, but the reality is that many countries in Europe are in worse financial shape and continue to deteriorate. [...]

Zemen Bank, the only Ethiopian bank anchored in the idea of a single branch banking, is to launch a full-blown internet banking, a service new to Ethiopian banking industry, within a month. The bank tested the venture through its first phase of the online service, months before, and now it is to commence the full-fledged [...]

The Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority (ERCA) has reportedly intercepted goods worth over 176 million birr in the just ended budget year. Authority Education and Communication Directorate Director, Ephrem Mekonnen, told reporters the intercepted goods include clothes, electronic materials, foreign paper money and minerals, among others. He said the goods were seized at various checkpoints [...]

Sudan Petroleum Corporation (Sudapet), the state-owned oil producing giant, heads toward becoming Ethiopia’s only Benzene supplier, ending the aged-long fuel imports of the country mainly from the Middle East. The Ethiopian Petroleum Enterprise said today that the Sudanese oil company will begin supplying 100 percent of Ethiopia’s annual benzene consumption as of next month. An [...]

The Ethiopian Airlines announced that it has successfully implemented its five–year strategic plan called “Vision 2010.” Tewolde Gebremariam, Chief Operating Officer of the Ethiopian Airlines, told WIC that the efficient implementation of the plan enabled Ethiopian to triple its  revenue. Five years ago, the Ethiopian Airlines formulated a strategic plan called “Vision 2010” targeted to [...]

The cabinet of the semi-autonomous government in Southern Sudan has resolved to review and prioritize projects earmarked for funding by the Islamic Development Bank. A delegation of the Islamic financial institution visited Juba last week on the invitation of the President, General Salva Kiir Mayardit, following their request during a meeting in Khartoum to meet [...]