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Industries Under Fire from Sheger City's Tax Blitz


A long-standing operator in the water bottling industry, SBG Industry Plc., bottlers of 'Arki' water,has faced operational difficulties recently. A dispute with Sheger City Administration officials, leading to a two-week suspension of operations. The...

Mar 9 , 2025


Fortune News

SHEGER'S SOARING LEASE IMPERIL MANUFACTURERS

The producer of ‘Arki' water, SBG Industry Plc has been forced to suspend operations for two weeks after a dispute with Sheger City Administration officials. The company was abruptly served with a d...

Money Market Watch

Banks Scramble for Dollars at Auctions, Shortchange Buyers on the Forex Market

The widening gap in foreign exchange rates among commercial banks fuelled tension in the forex market last week, as banks maneuvered to attract hard currency on the most favorable terms. Private banks...

Mar 9 , 2025

News Analysis

Lion Bank's Profit Roars, but Can It Claw Its Way to the Top?

Lion International Bank's comeback after a difficult stretch during the civil war in the northern part of the country, was remarkable, posting a net profit rise of 61pc from the previous year. Its ear...

Mar 9 , 2025


Latest Updates

Kegna Beverages Pours $250m Into Beer Market Taking On Giants

Kegna Beverages S.C. is making a 250 million dollar investment in the beer market, aspiring to emerg...

Mar 9 , 2025


Insurers Reel Under Reporting Standard Strain, as Actuarial Drought Stalls Compliance

A bill mandating an international financial reporting standard has intensified the frantic hunt for...

Mar 9 , 2025


New CEO Appointed to Lead Ethiopian Insurance Corporation's Public Listing Push

Brook Taye (PhD), CEO of Ethiopian Investment Holdings, has announced the appointment of Abel Tadess...







Agenda

Industries Under Fire from Sheger City's Tax Blitz

A long-standing operator in the water bottling industry, SBG Industry Plc., bottlers of 'Arki' water,has faced operational difficulties recently. A dispute with Sheger City Administration officials, leading to a two-week suspension of operations. The...

Mar 9 , 2025


False Overseas Job Promises Leave Seekers Bankrupt

Masresha Alebel, 37, hoped to improve his family's circumstances by seeking employment in Romania. He encountered a company that presented an opportunity he fou...

Mar 2 , 2025


Egg Prices Soar, Families Struggle, Bakeries Bleed as Market Swings

Endalk Eshetu stood arguing with a street egg vendor on Russian Street, near Anbessa Gibi Park in Amist Kilo. It was Thursday at 5:30 PM, the peak of rush hour...







Editorial

The GMO Experiment Can Be Harvest of Hope, Not Seed of Trouble

Five years ago, 11 non-governmental organisations (NGOs), together with 40 allies across Africa, demanded a five-year moratorium on Ethiopia's use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). They wanted clear regulations and “proper” public consult...

Mar 9 , 2025


Mismanaged, Trade Liberalisation Could Pour Cold Water on Local Hopes

The domestic economy has endured a punishing half-decade. A global pandemic throttled trade, a civil war inflicted grave damage to livelihoods and external financing, and persistent unrest in two of its largest regional states continues to sow misery. Yet, Pri...

Mar 2 , 2025

Africa Wants to Mark Own Homework with Homegrown Credit Agency

Africa is a place where the frustrations of its elites run high due to what they feel are external yardsticks distorting the continental potential. Ironically, successive generations of leaders have long borrowed foreign institutional models from the African U...

Feb 23 , 2025







Exclusive Interview

State Enterprises from Oracles to Apprentices

Charged with transforming colossal state-owned enterprises into modern and competitive powerhouses, the sovereign wealth manager, Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH), is at a defining moment. At the helm is Brook Taye (PhD), its third CEO since its founding in 2020, whose vision departs from convent...

Dec 22 , 2024


State Enterprises from Oracles to Apprentices

Charged with transforming colossal state-owned enterprises into modern and competitive powerhouses, the sovereign wealth manager, Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH), is at a defining moment. At the helm is Brook Taye (PhD), its third CEO since its founding in...

Dec 22 , 2024

Patience - Consistency - Respect

France's Ambassador to Ethiopia up until last week, Remi Marechaux, arrived in Addis Abeba four years ago with a dual mandate of representing his country and engaging with the African Union (AU). He dove into familiar waters from his previous role as Director...

Aug 4 , 2024







Viewpoint

Addis Abeba's Turbocharged Transformation Meets Dutch-Style Ambition

My time in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, pursuing postgraduate studies and working at the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD), left a lasting impression. I vividly recall the city's intricate canals and grasped first-hand the challenges of living below sea level. The Netherlands' history, shaped by catastrophic floods and the harrowing Dutch Hunger Winter of 1944–45, when millio...

Mar 9 , 2025


Making a Better Case for Foreign Aid

Foreign aid is being slashed across the Global North, nowhere more so than in the United States (US). Within his first month back in the White House, President Donald Trump dismantled the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and froze foreign aid, c...

Mar 9 , 2025

Fuel Price Surge Puts Households Pinched, Businesses Brace for Impact

The recent adjustment in fuel prices has stirred considerable anxiety among consumers, who are already struggling with rising costs. Officials have defended their decision, putting the blame on the international fuel market, the operational expenses of power p...

Mar 2 , 2025


My Opinion

When Help Comes with Strings Attached, Food Aid Has Hidden Cost

I recently overheard two strangers on my commute locked in a heated debate about food aid and the implications of USAID's gutting. They spoke of conspiracies that food aid targets at population control or comes laced with hidden health hazards. Their tone, filled with skepticism and sorrow, lingered with me long after I stepped off the bus. Such unease is understandable. Ethiopia, for instance...

Mar 9 , 2025


In Carbon Market, Corporations Buy Guilt, Not Change

Carbon markets have often been hailed as the foundation of global climate initiatives. They allow states and companies to buy credits to offset their greenhouse gas emissions. Polluters can continue their business operations while supposedly neutralising their...

Mar 2 , 2025

Africa's Push for a Jubilee to Break Free from Neo-Colonial Grip

African leaders such as Thomas Sankara and Kwame Nkrumah had warned about external debt becoming a tool of neo-colonial dominance. In the 1980s and 1990s, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank's structural adjustment programs forced African stat...

Feb 23 , 2025






Featured

Publishing Industry Contends with Soaring Costs, Shifts Digital

Walelgn Ayele, an aspiring young author, faced a harsh reality when he attempted to publish his first book. Printing 1,000 copies of a 450-page book would cost nearly half a million Birr. He quickly realised that paper size and weight were just the beginning of a complex and costly process. "To publish a book nowadays, you either have to be a government official or extremely rich," he said. "It's impossible at these prices." The publishing industry is struggling with soaring paper costs, c...

Feb 9 , 2025


Commentaries

Ethiopia Bet on Industrial Parks to Spur Growth. Has It Paid Off?

Hawassa has long been known for its scenic beauty and tourist appeal. However, the opening of the Hawassa Industrial Park (HIP) in 2016 has gradually shifted the city's identity from a leisure destination to a key industrial centre. Haile Mariam Desalegn, the former prime minister, officially inaugurated the Park almost a decade ago, marking a milestone for Ethiopia's industrial ambitions. Constructed by a Chinese company for a quarter of a billion dollars, the park has become a flagship text...

Mar 9 , 2025


News Analysis

Lion Bank's Profit Roars, but Can It Claw Its Way to the Top?

Lion International Bank's comeback after a difficult stretch during the civil war in the northern part of the country, was remarkable, posting a net profit rise of 61pc from the previous year. Its earnings per share (EPS) also jumped by 10 percentage points to 28.1pc, from 187.28 Br to 281.52 Br. Its results for the financial year 2023/24 showed a 2.19pc net profit margin on total assets, reflecting what industry analysts described as a measured posture. Incorporated in 2006 with a paid-up...

Mar 9 , 2025


Delicate Number

62

The number of taxpayers the Addis Abeba City Administration Revenue Bureau barred from traveling abroad, alleging they collectively owe it 3.2 billion Br in unpaid taxes. Officials invoked a 2016 law, under tax administration proclamation 983, which authorizes the Bureau to request immigration authorities to prevent citizens with outstanding tax obligations from leaving the country.

Mar 10 , 2025


Fineline

Leaders of the National . . .

Leaders of the National Election Board are in a charm offensive mood, of a sort. Last week, they organised a rare tour for members of the media, showcasing what polling stations will look like during the upcoming national elections; and they took the...

Oct 3 , 2020


Verbatim

"Why would I subsidize the American Embassy for their petroleum purchase?"

State Minister for Finance, Eyob Tekalign (PhD), said in his interview with The Reporter monthly English, that subsidies should focus on critical areas, lest they squander taxpayers' money.






Fortune Video




Sunday With Eden

The Power of Persistence in the Face of Pain

Pain is often seen as a roadblock, but for some, it becomes a catalyst for transformation. When faced with deep struggles, they confront their limits and find new ways to push forward. Indeed, the greatest breakthroughs often emerge not when life is easy, but when we are at our lowest. In the moment, pain feels unbearable. Our instinct is to resist it, to wish it away. But pain has a purpose. I...

Mar 9 , 2025


The Emotional Toll of Worry

Last week, I spoke with an expecting mother from church. After congratulating her, I shared my excitement. Out of curiosity, I asked where she was going for prenatal checkups. To my surprise, she said she had not started yet. Though already in her second trime...

Mar 2 , 2025

Soaring Rent Crisis Pushes Residents to the Brink

Addis Abeba is in the grip of a worsening housing crisis. Rent prices have surged to record levels, forcing many residents into financial distress. Even those who manage to secure housing agreements are finding themselves vulnerable to sudden and unlawful rent...

Feb 23 , 2025


Life Matters

About Pringles, Wrestling with Luxury in a Land of Need

The other day, after lunch, my family and I wandered into a supermarket. The children had finished their meals and were eager for a treat. As we browsed the aisles, the children darted around, grabbing whatever they could, while we admonished them to come closer, put that down, or refrain from picking that up. Anyone who has shopped with young children knows the challenge: they desire everything d...

Mar 9 , 2025


Online Toxicity Hijacks Social Media

One minute, people are laughing at a meme on social media; the next, they scroll through a barrage of comments ranging from mildly irritating to downright ruthless. Honestly, I am not sure I am mentally equipped for that kind of constant online friction. Such...

Mar 2 , 2025

The Increasing Presence of Women in Leadership

Following the recently concluded 38th AU Summit, I was captivated by the presence of incoming heads of state and officials. Yet, what caught my attention was the Ethiopian women in high-ranking positions, welcoming these dignitaries with authority and grace. A...

Feb 23 , 2025





Radar

Ethiopia and Korea railway Sign MOU to Improve Ethiopian Railway service

The Ethiopian Railways Corporation (ERC) and Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to advance railway development, technical exchange, and infrastructure modernization in Ethiopia. The agreement includes the creation of technical training programmes and advisory services aimed at aligning Ethiopia's railway systems with international standards. The MOU...

Mar 9 , 2025


Central Bank, Global Alliance Partner to Enhance Sustainable

The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) recently hosted a high-level meeting with representatives from the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV) and selected member banks in anticipation of the 17th GABV Annual Meeting scheduled in Uganda. The meeting convened commercial bank representatives from Ethiopia, alongside a delegation comprising six GABV members, including Centenary Bank and Oppor...

Mar 9 , 2025

In Picture

CULTURE CANVAS

A striking fusion of tradition and modernity is captured in a 3D street art piece near the Stadium area, depicting a young girl in traditional attire skating. This creative mural, showcasing notable talent, exemplifies the growing presence of urban street art in Addis Abeba which is transforming its concrete spaces with vibrant, panoramic displays of artistry. This eclectic street art scene encomp...

Mar 10 , 2025


HIDDEN SIGNAL

Traffic lights in the Gotera area are being obscured by large, overgrown trees, with one pole visibly partially hidden. This issue raises serious safety concerns, compounded by Addis Abeba's rigorous traffic law enforcement. Violations are heavily penalized; a third-degree offense, such as disobeying a traffic light, incurs a 1500 Br fine and three penalty points. The Addis Ababa City Administrati...

Mar 10 , 2025