VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Ethiopia's Agricultural Ministry has terminated its agreement with Indian company's Karuturi Global Ltd. last month on the grounds that the company has not made enough progress as agreed upon. Karuturi has claimed that the government has prevented it from making any further progress and will take legal action to fight the cancellation.

AP Moeller-Maersk will buy $845 million worth of Africa Oil Corp.'s shares to revive a declining energy unit in the North Sea. According to Bloomberg Business, Maersk will buy the African oil company's onshore exploration license in Kenya, and two more in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia's state-run telecoms monopoly has launched a fourth generation (4G) mobile service in the capital Addis Ababa, aiming to catch up with the high-speed communications available in some east African neighbors such as Kenya and Uganda.

Chinese workers mingle with Ethiopians putting the finishing touches to a metro line that cuts through Addis Ababa, one of a series of grand state infrastructure projects that Ethiopia hopes will help it mimic Asia's industrial rise.

Three African economic blocs will merge into a new 27-nation free-trade zone under an agreement to be signed in Cairo next month, uniting markets worth 58 percent of the continent's economic activity, Egypt's industry and trade minister said.

Bloomberg Philanthropies invested $5 million in solar powered Little Sun to give those populations in the African region less expensive, clean light from the kerosene lamps they have been using.

Mumbai, India-based decorative and industrial paint manufacturer Asian Paints (International) Ltd picked up a 51% stake in Ethiopia-based paint maker Kadisco Chemical Industry PLC for an undisclosed amount.

Nairobi, Kenya-based private equity firm Catalyst Principal Partners acquired Dar es Salaam, Tanzania-based heavy equipment rental and logistics firm EFFCO for an undisclosed amount as part of its strategy to invest in high-growth companies in eastern Africa.

The Ethiopian government's program to lease farmland to private investors to grow food has experienced several setbacks, a report from Bloomberg said. The program was started in 2008.

Turkey said it intended to create an industrial zone in Addis Ababa on land assigned to Turkey by the Ethiopian government.

Ethiopia signed an USD800 million contract with ZTE for the expansion of the country's mobile phone infrastructure.

To expand the country's mobile phone infrastructure, Ethiopia signed a US$1.6 billion deal with two Chinese firms.