Page 1 - Print Version Volume 22 Number 1113

Volume 22 No. 1113, SUNDAY, August 29, 2021 Content Matters
Global
Shipping
Crisis Pushes
Container
Procurement
Cost
A Chinese firm
has been chosen to
supply 19 million
dollars worth of
shipping containers
By BERSABEH GEBRE
FORTUNE STAFF WRITER
The state-owned Ethiopian Shipping
& Logistics Services Enterprise
(ESLSE) is to spend 19 million
dollars to procure 2,958 containers,
up by two million dollars from a
similar acquisition it undertook
earlier this year.
A global shipping disruption led
to a drastic surge in the cost of
containers and rising prices of
commodities across the world.
The cost of transporting a 40ft
container from China to the United
States has escalated from less than
5,000 dollars in August 2020 to
over 17,000 dollars a year later
this month.
The global shortage of containers
began at the end of last year,
caused by a slump in production
by manufacturers in China, which
account for over 90pc of the
market share. The companies cut
production after experiencing a
surplus earlier in March 2020,
when an equivalent of more
than three million empty 20-foot
containers was awaiting buyers
at Chinese ports, and another 1.2
million sat in storage.
Despite the shortfall, the
Enterprises's call for the supply
(Continued on PAGE 7)
Expenses (2019/20)
T e n ( 1 0 ) b i r r o n ly
Ethiopia Secures $408m from IMF, Officials Chuffed
Neighbouring Kenya received over $750m, Sudan $860m
By SAMUEL BOGALE 2021, three weeks after since the inception of SDRs foreign exchange reserve
the IMF Board of Directors assets defined and maintained
FORTUNE STAFF WRITER approved a record-high in 1969, bringing the total to by the IMF, representing
456 billion in SDR units 660 billion. a claim to currency held
Ethiopia has secured a sum (around 650 billion dollars by member countries.
of 408 million dollars under based on current market “Countries can use the They are allocated based
the Special Drawing Rights prices) to 190 member space provided by the on the shareholder quota
(SDR) programme of the countries. While the figure SDR allocation to support countries hold at the IMF,
International Monetary Fund their economies,” reads
(IMF). is significantly higher than a communique issued by determined using a set of
On the table since March the previous allocation of Kristalina Georgieva, IMF's criteria such as the GDP,
this year, the allocation 182 billion in 2009, it is one managing director.
took effect on August 23, of four major allocations Special drawing rights are (Continued on PAGE 6)
MINING FOR SUCCESS
Fist bumps were in order late last week between Eyob Photo by: Sawrawork Tafari
Takalign (PhD) (left), state minister for Finance, and
Takele Uma, minister of Mines & Petroleum and head While mining remains heavily traditional and inefficient, with
of the institution that oversees the mining sector, artisanal workers accounting for nearly all mined gold, the
which has been a boom for federal treasuries over the past government has succeeded in formalising part of it. Within
year. The occasion was the renovation of the Ministry’s two years, exports from mining grew by around 2,000pc
headquarters in the neighbourhood commonly known as to account for a sixth of the 3.6 billion dollars in export
Wessen, as part of a revamping of federal agencies. revenues. In the first month of this fiscal year, the sector
Takele gave a tour of the headquarters to members of the secured 38.5 million dollars, a third higher than the 29
media and federal officials, including Motuma Mekassa million dollars from mining for the entirety of 2019.
(centre), former minister of Mines & Petroleum. The occasion The Ministry would like to see this success replicated and
was rounded off with recognition for the federal agency more. The strategies it has identified are facilitating a
employees and blood donation by Takele for the National market for mining products on the Ethiopian Commodities
Defense Forces, a familiar sight these days, mainly by Exchange (ECX) and developing industrial mining. The major
government officials. roadblocks are the civil war in the north, particularly in
The Ministry also released a sector report, showing a Tigray Regional State, one of three top gold producers, and
surprisingly impressive performance over the past two years. alarming levels of political instability across the country.
Poor infrastructure and stubborn levels of informality are
not helping either.
Dashen (5.4b Br) BoA (4.6b Br) NIB (3.2b Br) Hibret (3.8b Br) Awash (6.6b Br) LIB (3.2b Br) BIB (1.6b Br)