The minister of finance, Eyob Tekalign Tolina, told the Reuters news agency that Ethio Telecom has appointed KPMG to advise it on the sale of stakes in the company. He previously said that the need for telecoms infrastructure investment in the country is “huge”.
Ethiopia is expected to appoint another advisor in the next few weeks, to recommend a strategy for introducing competition in telecoms.
Earlier reports quoted Eyob saying that the government is likely to license two operators to compete with Ethio Telecom, and also that the new licensees would be offered a stake in the company.
Other reports said that Ethio Telecom would be split into an infrastructure company and a services company before privatisation.
In June, however, the government’s target was to invite tenders – for stakes in Ethio Telecom and for licences – by the end of September. As October starts next Tuesday, this operation is clearly running behind schedule.
