Viettel looks at telecom sector in Ethiopia as government opens market

* The Ghanaian government intends to liberalize the sector

* The Vietnamese public telecommunications operator Viettel is looking for opportunities to position itself in the market

Joe Bavier

JOHANNESBURG, July 30 (Reuters) In Ethiopia, a company official said Monday that the government has announced plans to liberalize key economic sectors, including telecommunications.

The Ethiopian government announced last month its intention to open Ethiopian Airlines, the state logistics company and monopoly of electricity to private investment. But the monopoly of state telecommunications is considered the biggest price because of its huge protected market.

The plan is still in its infancy, but the scenarios described by the authorities include the sale of a minority stake in Ethio Telecom owned by the state, licensing to new operators or a combination of both. "With Viettel's experiences over the years, the option of granting a new license to operate will create better competition for telecom operators, which is also the option we prefer, "said a company representative at Reuters.

Viettel currently operates or holds licenses in African markets, including Mozambique, Burundi, Cameroon and Tanzania.

The official said that even though Ethiopia initially chose to sell only a stake in Ethio Telecom, which has more than 60 million mobile subscribers, Viettel could still be interested. "If the Ethiopian government offers the clear and sensible option for the sale of shares of Ethio Telecom, Viettel will still consider this option if it suits Viettel 's investment strategies," said the manager.

Other foreign telecommunications companies that have expressed interest in one of the last remaining monopolistic markets in Africa include MTN listed on Johannesburg and Orange in France.

Reuters reported this month that Kenya Safaricom, whose parents are Vodacom in South Africa and Vodafone in Britain, is in advanced talks to introduce its popular mobile money service M-Pesa there -low.