Ethiopia opens the economy to foreign investment | CPI Financial | CPI Financial | blog



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The Ethiopian government has agreed to relax its monopoly on several key economic sectors, including aviation and telecommunications.

The country will sell minority stakes to foreign and domestic investors in state monopolies such as Ethiopian Airlines. and Ethio Telecom. Ethiopian Airlines is already the largest and most dynamic airline in the continent in terms of fleet size and annual pbadenger numbers. The growth of the airline has also had an impact on the country's capital Addis Ababa has become the African equivalent of Arab hubs.

MTN, the largest telecom operator in Africa, and Vodacom have expressed interest in the Ethiopian market with a spokesman for Vodacom saying Reuters that, "Vodacom has repeatedly said that Ethiopia is an attractive market, it follows that there would be interest.Of course, it depends on what could become available and it fits our investment parameters "It is understood that five percent will be offered to Ethiopians and 30 to 40 percent to global telecom players with at least a year or two of consultation." In a statement posted on Twitter, Fitsum Arega, chief of staff to the Prime Minister Ethiopian, said: "The ruling party has also promised to extend the" mixed ownership "or authorize full privatization in other areas, including the railway. Ethiopia is the second largest country in Africa by its population of more than 100 million people and has also been one of the fastest, if not the fastest, economies on the continent. last years. . The decision to allow foreign investment offers a contrasted approach by the new Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed compared to the predecessors.

Quartz reported that the government argued that political changes are a crucial part of a comprehensive policy. strategy to stimulate and modernize the country's economy, which has grown by 10 percent over the last decade. Increased investment could help solve the growing problem of youth unemployment – although this problem is not as important as in other African countries due to the development of the Ethiopian agricultural sector

. increased funds to fund its rapid growth. Indeed, The East African reports that the government has revealed that it will require $ 13 billion over the next two years to cover the import of oil, private investment , the modernization of existing projects and the repayment of external debt. The change is the latest in several facts by the new Ahmed government that include the end of an Internet blackout and the release of political prisoners. Ethiopia has also recently agreed to conclude a peace agreement with neighboring Eritrea that was signed in 2000 after the end of a two-year border war. Ahmed had spent two months normalizing his relations with Eritrea before the deal.

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