The Fourth Annual African Economic Conference (AEC), organized by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), under the theme "Fostering Development in an Era of Financial Crisis" is to be held in Addis Abeba for three days starting November 11, 2009.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is expected to deliver the keynote address. Donald Kaberuka, president of AfDB, and Paul Collier, director of the Centre for the Study of African Economies at Oxford University, are expected to participate. 

The event is expected to serve as a forum for the exchange of ideas between economists and policymakers in order to improve the quality of economic policies designed within the region, according to a statement from the UNECA.

The Third Annual African Economic Conference was held at the same time last year in Tunis with the theme "Globalization, Institutions and Economic Development in Africa."

The annual Diplomatic Bazaar, organized by the spouses of ambassadors and heads of missions in Addis Abeba will this year take place on the premises of the African Union on Roosevelt Street between Mexico Square and Pushkin Square on November 28, 2009.

This year spouses from 46 countries will be giving visitors a taste of their culture in the form of food, shopping and fun for a period of six hours. This is the first time the event is taking place outside an embassy, according to Kristien Vervaeke-Aelvoet, President of the Ambassadors and Heads of Mission Spouses Group (AHMSG), which sponsors the annual event.

Last year's event at the French embassy drew 8,000 visitors, and raised funds for Project Matrix, the charity arm of the AHMSG. The fund that will be raised this year will be given to ten charities run by and for Ethiopians in the Project Matrix.

Like the previous year, there will be a raffle this year "with valuable prizes, including roundtrip airfare to exciting foreign destinations" courtesy of Turkish Air, Kenya Airways and Egypt Air, according to a statement sent by the group.

Adults will be charged a 30 Br entrance fee to the event, while children will pay 10 Br.

The Second Ethio-Chamber National Trade Fair and Bazaar, organized by the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Association (ECCSA) under the theme "Buy Ethiopian," will open Friday, November 13, 2009, at the Addis Abeba Exhibition Centre.

Public and International Relations Department Head with ECCSA, Ali Suleiman, told Fortune that over 20 companies have so far registered to participate. ECCSA has hired Afro Dan Plc to handle the communications work for the event, Ali said. He added that ECCSA has tried to encourage the participation of small-scale enterprises, which usually do not have the financial capacity to participate in such events.

The event will display arrays of houseware, clothing articles, electronic equipment, foodstuffs, and other materials in all three halls of the centre.

The organizers hope several thousand people will visit the trade fair and bazaar, which will take place for 10 days until November 22, 2009. The first such event was held last year around the same time at the same venue.

The Ethiopian Fruit and Vegetable Marketing Enterprise (EtFruit) bought the premises of the Ethio Investment Group (EIG) for 28 million Br in a Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) foreclosure for a 27 million Br loan EIG failed to pay back to the bank.

The premises lie on a 7,000sqm plot in the Kera Area of the Kirkos District.

EIG was the sole agent for vehichles like Scania, BMW, Ford and Land Rover. It had borrowed 97 million Br from various banks including CBE, according to reports about a year ago. At that time, the company was reported to have been unable to pay the salaries of its 200 employees. The owners of the group included Getas International, Star Business Group and East African Holdings.

EtFruit, a state enterprise, was looking for a new place to move to since its premises, along with several buildings around it, at Kebele 07/14 in the Lideta District is to be demolished by the city administration as part of the Local Development Plan. The old buildings in the area will be replaced by condominiums and business centres.

The Council of Ministers on Friday, November 6, 2009 has discussed a bill for the re-establishment of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX), an organized commodities market recently established in Ethiopia.

At the ECX headquarters around Mexico areas of the Lideta District, sellers come together to trade, assured of quality, quantity, payment and delivery.

During the discussion, the Council considered the establishment of ECX as insurance to all players in the commodity market. The institution achieved market security which the actors need to get, a risk-free payment and goods delivery system to settle transactions, the council noted.

ECX also serves market actors in a fair and efficient manner. The council thoroughly discussed the draft bill that was initiated to enable other products to be traded under ECX and referred it to the House of Peoples' Representatives (HPR) for endorsement. (ENA)

Construction work is to begin on a care centre for the elderly in the CMC area of the Bole District at a cost of 10 million Br. Sunshine Construction Plc had recently announced the construction of two geriatric care centres in Addis Abeba at a cost of 20 million Br.

"This is the first of the three care centres we are going to construct in Addis Abeba and city of Dessie," Samuel Tafesse, managing director of Sunshine Construction Plc told Fortune on Wednesday, November 4, 2009.

The company has allocated the 20 million Br fund to carry out construction on two separate plots his company acquired from the Addis Abeba City Administration, Samuel said. The City Administration granted plots of 30,000sqm each, for free for the purpose of building the facilities.

The land was given to the company after Sunshine made a pledge to construct and offer administration costs for the two care centres in Addis Abeba.

"We want to contribute our share to the national activity towards reducing and eliminating begging across Ethiopia," he said.

Each of the care centres will have living quarters for the elderly, lounges, recreation facilities and workshops as well as clinics, offices and housing for staff.

The Ethio Poultry Expo was held at the Addis Abeba Exhibition Centre from November 4 to 6, 2009. The expo was organized by a Sudanese company, Expo Team Services Co. with an Ethiopian partner Prana Promotion. The organizers expressed their hope that the expo would be a springboard to attract international companies to enter the poultry markets in Ethiopia and other African countries. Culture and Tourism State Minister, Mahmoud Ahmed Gass, visited the expo where various poultry technologies were displayed.

The construction of the condominium houses of the Gergi site were completed six months ago. Since then, residents have started moving in. Nonetheless, the houses have no electricity and the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) was only able to provide power to some of the residents. Consequently, residents with no access to power are sharing with those who have power by using cables which they have extended themselves. Some of the cables extend for 400 metres, Abebe Daneo, a resident, told Fortune. The cables cost about one Birr per metre and the selling residents could charge the buyers up to 50 Br for a month's share of electricity.

In the area opposite Cinema Empire (Piazza) in the Arada District, fire razed the small shanty houses and stores to the ground on September 20, 2009. The cause of the fire is as yet unknown. Some observers commented that the congested old houses constructed without any plan had contributed highly to exasperating the fire and making it difficult to put out. The loss due to the fire, which had been raging for over one hour from around 9pm, has been estimated to be one million Birr by the Fire Department. Mayor Kuma Demeksa visited the site the following day. People at the site were heard complaining that the fire department should have tried to arrive sooner to extinguish the fire before it had caused such extensive damage.