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Ethiopia’s government will sell a 10% stake in Ethio Telecom next week. The company will be the first to list on the country’s new stock market.
The move also comes ahead of the government’s planned divestment of a further 45% stake in the telecoms provider to investors.
The new stock exchange and privatization of state-owned companies are part of plans to open up Ethiopia’s economy and attract investment. Opening up Ethiopia’s telecoms sector to competition offers investors the chance to enter a market that serves a nation of 120 million people.
Kenyan company Safaricom led a consortium that includes Japan’s Sumitomo and British firm Vodafone to win the first license for an independent telecom operator in Ethiopia in May 2021, for $850 million. The process for issuing a second license was launched in June last year.
Brook Taye, chief executive of state-owned Ethiopia Investment Holdings, which is the parent of Ethio Telecom, told Reuters the local telecom market will be best served by three operators, given the range of services that can be offered to businesses and consumers. “It’s a huge opportunity,” he said.
