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Ethiopian Airlines to acquire 8 Boeing 777X jets

Published

9 months ago

March 7, 2024

Ethiopian Airlines has committed to acquiring eight Boeing 777-9 widebody aircraft, with the possibility of ordering up to twelve more, the airline announced in a statement on Wednesday.

Major airlines are competing to place fresh orders for fuel-efficient widebody aircraft to keep operating costs low and meet the increasing demand for international travel.

Five years of delays have beset Boeing’s 777X programme, which has received hundreds of jet orders from airlines worldwide.

Ethiopian Airlines placed the order at a time when Boeing is under more scrutiny following an incident on January 5 in which a door plug blew off a brand-new 737 MAX aircraft mid-flight.

Tim Clark, president of Emirates, said last week that the largest twin-engine plane in the world, the 777X, may not arrive until late 2026 instead of early 2025. The biggest purchaser of the aircraft is Emirates.

In addition to its 2023 purchase of 11 787 Dreamliners and 20 737 MAX jets, Ethiopian Airlines has become the first client of 777X in Africa with the selection of 777-9 aircraft.

According to the airline, the 777-9 will help it achieve its goals of expanding and modernising its fleet in terms of size, range, and passenger capacity in order to serve high-demand markets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Related Topics:#boeing Ethiopia Airline Featured

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IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

16 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

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Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.