Next week, the Ethiopian government will sell a 10% stake in the capital of incumbent operator Ethio Telecom on the new local stock market, Reuters reported on Wednesday (October 9), citing an executive of the government investment firm Ethiopian Investment Holdings.

The establishment of a stock exchange and the privatization of state-owned enterprises are part of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's efforts to open up the country to more private investments.

Ethiopia has listed companies, but so far trading has only been done over the counter.

Ethio Telecom's 10% IPO also marks the first step towards the government selling an additional 45% stake in the telecom operator to investors.

We will need to look into this issue after the 10% is sold, as that will give us an idea of the valuation,” said Mr. Brook, whose company is the Ethiopian government's strategic investment arm.

Mr. Brook also said that the government was prepared to relaunch the tendering process for a second private telecommunications license.

">We still think it's a three-operator market, especially if you add the B2B and B2C sector, and broadband services for homes and offices. This is a huge opportunity,” said Mr. Brook.

So we are always very interested and would welcome any interest from operators.