Archive for the ‘Business’ Category

Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) — The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with the Export-Import Bank of China for a $300 million credit facility, Ethiopia’s state- owned lender said.“The amount is to be used by the CBE whenever it needs it in the future,” Chief Business Development Officer Yishak Mengesha said in an e-mailed response to questions yesterday.The terms of the loan and interest rate will be negotiated later, he said. The money will help fund projects as part of the country’s five-year growth plan, according to Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa-based Foreign Ministry.The Horn of Africa nation plans to invest about $33 billion in industry and infrastructure by mid-2015. Projects include 10 sugar factories and a $4.8 billion hydropower plant on the Blue Nile river. The loan takes EXIM Bank’s lending to Ethiopia to more than $1.8 billion, according to the Foreign Ministry.The Chinese bank also plans to lend the government 1.7 billion birr ($98 million) for water-supply projects for the capital, Addis Ababa, the ministry said in an e-mailed statement on Dec. 9.–Editors: Gordon Bell, Alastair Ree To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net

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