Ethiopia to sell 40 percent of telecom monopoly by July - Prime Minister

The Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, has disclosed that the east African country plans to sell up to 40 percent of shares in the state-owned telecom monopoly Ethio-Telecom by July.

Ahmed disclosed the plan during a report he presented to Ethiopian Parliamentarians. The Ethiopian PM didn't disclose the identity of potential bidders for Ethio-Telecom shares or how much the shares will be valued once they are put on public sale.

Separately, Ethiopia is preparing to sell two full-fledged telecom licenses.

Sharing Mobile Group, a Chinese telecom operator, has already expressed interest to join the bid for the telecom license in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia's telecom industry is considered a huge untapped market, as the east African country, has the second-highest population in Africa, only surpassed by Nigeria.