ADDIS ABABA (Semonegna)–The Ethiopian government has announced that it will open major state-owned and public enterprises for private and foreign investors for the first time so as to stimulate the country’s development and economic growth.
In its ordinary session meeting on Tuesday, 05 June 2018, the Executive Committee of the ruling regime EPRDF passed a decision to partially or fully transfer the shares of such state-owned companies as railway, industrial parks, hotels, sugar and manufacturing industries. In addition, the Executive Committee has decided to sell lesser portions of the stakes of some monopolized companies including the Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise, Ethio Telecom (the only telecommunication service provider in the country), as well as Ethiopian Shipping & Logistics Services Enterprise by still holding their major shares.
According the Ethiopian News Agency, the EPRDF Executive Committee passed these decisions in order to keep the momentum of the country’s growing economy, to improve export performance, to take economic reform measures consistent with the economic growth of the country as well as to build an inclusive economy & growth in which local investors will have foremost involvement.
Opening such major state-owned enterprises for private investors, which the Executive Committee passed after evaluating the two-and-half year economic performance of the country, is believed to boost the contribution of Ethiopians and foreigners of Ethiopian origin to the development of the country as well as to curtail the foreign currency shortage the country has been facing following mega infrastructures that are being carried out in the country such as dams, railways, roads and sugar companies. The shortage of foreign currency (forex) the country faced in recent times forced the National Bank of Ethiopia, which is the country’s central band, to devalue the Ethiopian birr by 15 percent in October 2917 to boost major exports which in turn would reduce forex shortages as well as ease the country’s debt burden.