Addis Wants to Withdraw from its Nationalisation Stance But Investors aren’t Convinced 

When the Ethiopian government tried to partially privatize Ethio Telecom earlier this month, the interest from international investors was lukewarm. A stake in the former mobile monopoly should have been an attractive investment: The former mobile monopoly has more than 64 million users, and more than 40 million mobile money users, making it one of the largest telecom operators on the continent. Investors have been deterred by everything from ongoing regional conflicts in different parts of the country to a chronic shortage of foreign currency, say local analysts. That reality has forced the government to sell up to 10% of Ethio Telecom’s shares to locals, in a desperate bid to generate revenue. It hopes the liberalization of its banking sector will have a different outcome.

SEMAFOR