The Ethiopian government announced on Thursday that it plans to increase the amount of Ethio Telecom, a state-owned monopoly, that will be sold to up to 45 per cent from the initial offering of 40 per cent.
This move is part of the effort to liberalize Ethiopia’s tightly regulated economy, and the partial sale of the large carrier was initiated in 2021.
The government initially launched the process with a view to selling a 40-per cent stake, inviting proposals from interested parties in a bid to make the carrier — which has 44 million subscribers — more competitive and efficient.
However, the sale ran into headwinds and was postponed last March before the process was re-activated in mid-November, two weeks after the signing of a peace deal to end a two-year war in northern Ethiopia
“The Government of Ethiopia is proposing a partial privatization… by selling up to 45% of the equity share capital of the Company,” the Ministry of Finance said in a public advertisement.
Ending the state monopoly in the telecoms sector is a key component of an economic reform package that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced after coming to power in 2018.
In 2021, Ethiopia also issued a tender to award two licences to private telecommunication operators.
One licence was awarded to a consortium led by Kenya’s Safaricom, making it the first private telecommunications company to operate in the country of more than 110 million people.
Read also; Ethio Telecom Records a 20% Rise in Revenue to $ 633 Million in H1.
