Ethiopia: call for expressions of interest for 40% of Ethio Telecom officially opens on June 15
June 14th 2021
The liberalization of the Ethiopian telecoms market has finally entered its second phase. The partial privatization of the incumbent telecommunications operator is underway. Deloitte Consulting, a firm selected in July 2020 to support the government in this stage, is in the driver’s seat.
The Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and the Public Administration and Enterprise Management Agency (PEHAA) officially launched the international call for expressions of interest for the acquisition of 40% of the share capital of Ethio Telecom on Tuesday, June 15. Companies interested in the actions of the incumbent telecommunications operator have 30 days to express their interest. Afterwards, the Request for Proposals (RPF) procedure will be followed, the validity period of which will be communicated later.
According to the Ministry of Finance and the PEHAA, the launch of the Ethio Telecom privatization procedure represents an important step in the process of liberalizing the national telecoms market initiated since 2018 by the government. Through the introduction of competition, the objective is to improve the populations’ access to telecom services, the quality of services and the cost of the services offered.
The phase of partial privatization of Ethio Telecom begins just days after the government successfully closed the sale of the country’s first private telecoms license to Global Partnership for Ethiopia, a consortium made up of Safaricom, Vodacom Group, Vodafone Group, Sumitomo and CDC Group. The sale of the second telecoms license is already in preparation. MTN Group could opt for an investment in Ethio Telecom rather than in a personal telecoms operating title.
The South African company which remains focused on a license allowing it to offer Mobile Money could indeed choose this option as that of waiting until May 2022 to be able to launch its financial services on mobiles with a personal license, as decided. by the Ethiopian government.
On Ethio Telecom’s financial outlook, Deloitte Consulting, the main transaction adviser for the incumbent operator, believes that the financial contribution received from this privatization will allow the company to realize its full potential in the voice and broadband segments. , Business services, rental of telecoms infrastructure, Mobile Money and home connectivity. Ethio Telecom will thus see its revenues increase.
Back