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It would, to say the least, be a reasonable excuse to delay telecom liberalization plans, but Ethiopian authorities have insisted that the ongoing Tigray conflict will not delay plans to auction telecom licenses or a planned sale of part of Ethiopia. Telecom.
According to Reuters, Ethiopia expects to go ahead with the sale of a minority stake in the state communications monopoly Ethio Telecom within nine months. Bidding for two new communications licenses will begin, as scheduled, on December 1.
The opening of a large, but hitherto state-run, telecommunications market in the country whose population of around 115 million is second in size only to Nigeria on the African continent is expected to attract much interest and many jobs.
However, a military offensive is now underway in the northern state of Tigray, which was launched on November 4. Could that distract the officials?
Apparently not. Reuters cites a senior finance ministry adviser who does not expect any delays, despite the fact that the sale of Ethio Telecom’s stake in particular has been delayed more than once so far for reasons that could be seen as less urgent.
Some big players, including Safaricom, MTN, Etisalat and Orange, are rumored to be interested in the planned sale of two new licenses, but conflict or not, they will have to be patient. After the start of the bidding process in December, it appears investors will take three to four months to submit their bids.
The partial privatization of Ethio Telecom will take even longer and, after a series of delays and disputes, in particular the decision to suspend the entry of foreign telecom infrastructure companies into the country, it will be interesting to see if the process goes smoothly through from now on.
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