Ethiopian Airlines Expanding its Fleet with Record Profits

Ethiopian Airlines’ (EA) whopping profit of about $55.67mn for the first nine months of 2007-08 has enabled them to expand their fleet to accommodate more US tourists’ interest in visiting Ethiopia. Girma Wake, CEO of EA averred that four additional airliners from Bombardier Q400 NextGen turboprop had been ordered to strengthen its fleet.

In November 2008, the state-owned airlines had signed an agreement with Bombardier Aerospace to purchase eight Q400 NextGen turboprop airliners. Wake said that they had placed orders for more airliners due to the expectation of higher traffic in 2010. He acknowledged that Bombardier’s performance including longer range, higher payload and lower operability cost were the major factors which compelled them to opt for the same airliner once again.

EA saw a turnaround in profits ever since it won Best African Airline Award in 2006. The airlines recorded just about $16mn profit in 2006-07 fiscal but the profits soared ever after its sustained efforts on marketing Ethiopia began in large scale since early last year.

EA is one of the largest airlines from the African continent, and one of the few flight operators that has made profits in the current global financial mess. It should be noted, EA’s profit story came especially after last year the International Air Traffic Association (IATA) predicted major downward shake-up in the profits of many air carriers from the region.

Several African air carriers suffered losses owing to decline in traffic from Europe last year. Africa being described as the major growing power in aviation industry saw close to 9 percent slide in total traffic and flights to Europe registered around 10 percent decline.

EA feels if the fuel prices remained stable; it would not be a problem to generate same kind of profit this fiscal too. The air carrier is embarked on a massive marketing drive in the US to attract tourists to its country including roping in the services of NBA legend Manute Bol as brand ambassador of the airline.

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Thailand Ropes in the UAE to Develop Mega Livestock Farms

According to sources, Thailand has been able to attract the UAE to invest in its livestock farming industry to produce halal products out of sheep, goats and other livestock. Thailand is understood to have working for some time from now to lure the cash-rich GCC member states, which have acquired and are in the process of acquiring arable lands and livestock farms in several Asian and African nations for securing its food supplies.

Apart from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are also seemed to have impressed by livestock farming opportunities in Thailand. The southern provinces, the Andaman region of Thailand have been chosen for the proposed mega livestock farms.

The climatic conditions and geographic placing of Thailand are claimed to be the most suited in Southern Asia for livestock production and paddy cultivation. However, the UAE’s interest in rice production would not be possible due to shortage in suitable lands.

The UAE already has ambitious plans to establish agricultural production centres in Sudan and Pakistan. The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development aims to develop 70,000 acres of land for food production in Sudan alone.

Similarly, Saudi Arabia has also invested in overseas agricultural farms including Pakistan to ward off any potential food shortage threat like that which confronted the globe last year. The desert nations are showing keen interest in developing agricultural and livestock farms outside their region since engaging in similar activities in the region would require manifold expenditure, and also not sure of the results.

To cater to the burgeoning Middle East market, Thailand has made several plans for investing in the production of halal meat and dairy products in countries such as, Pakistan and Bangladesh. According to Thai government sources, Charoen Pokpand Foods, the largest agri-business firm of the country is preparing to develop mega livestock farms in Russia as part of its expansion plans to fulfil its export shortfalls.

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Iran Offers Solution for Japan to Overcome Economic Turbulence

During the last week’s joint seminar by Iranian and Japanese chambers of commerce held in Tokyo, the chairman of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries, and Mines, Mohammad Nahavandian said that his country had presented immense trade opportunities for Japan to ease their economic crises. He pointed out that the Article 44 of Iran’s Constitution was tailor-made for foreign investments in Iran.

Export based economy of Japan has been devastated recently by the global economic crisis. The Japan’s exports dropped by 50 percent triggering a 5.4 percent plunge in its GDP due to falling demand for its merchandise from the US and the EU, its major trade partners.

During the meet, Iran invited Japan to set up branches of their banks in Iran, and apprised of the opportunities in fields such as, marine transportation system, oil projects, and construction of marine structures. Another major area of investment brought to the notice by Iran was national railway network project including construction of railroads for express trains and other related projects.

Currently, Japan is the third largest importer of Iran’s industrial and mining products, and about 22 percent of its total oil output is exported to Japan. The two-way trade between both countries is about $20bn in 2008.

With renewed ties, Iran is expecting to triple the trade volume in the coming years through increased economic participation by Japan. Iran’s non-oil exports to Japan include carpets, pistachios and dry fruits.

After concluding the Tokyo visit, Nahavandian informed he had assurances by several Japanese authorities including Japan’s MP, Kotaro Tamura that a Japanese delegation would soon visit the country to review the trade possibilities in Iran. Tamura is one of the strong supporters in fostering better ties with Iran that extend to all spheres of bilateral co-operation. Iran’s anti-American stance and Japan’s US ally status often vexed the relations between both countries for the past several decades.

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