Mon Jan 9, 2017 3:45pm GMT
ADDIS ABABA Jan 9 (Reuters) – Ethiopia aims to offer foreign firms stakes in some state-owned companies to help modernise the businesses, the prime minister said on Monday, signalling a shift from the nation’s heavy dependence on state investment to drive growth.
The move would include offering a stake in state-owned Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Services Enterprise, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn told a news conference, without naming other firms or giving the size of any stakes on offer.
It was not immediately clear if the initiative would mean opening up the state-run telecommunications sector or banks, which are either owned by the government or private Ethiopian investors. Foreigners have eyed those sectors in particular.
(Reporting by Aaron Maasho; Writing by Edmund Blair; editing by Ralph Boulton)
Source – REUTERS AFRICA