ADDIS ABABA, July 30 (Reuters) - State monopoly Ethio
Telecom, expected to be partly sold off as Ethiopia liberalises
its economy, saw a 31.4% rise in revenues in the 12 months to
end-June, versus a year earlier, the firm's chief executive
Frehiwot Tamiru said on Thursday.
Ethiopia has said it plans to sell 40 percent of shares in
Ethio Telecom, with the government retaining a majority stake.
Speaking at a news conference, Frehiwot attributed the jump
in revenues to 47.7 billion birr ($1.37 billion) for the
financial year ended June to an expansion of the network and
more customers.
The liberalisation of the telecoms sector, which serves a
population of 110 million, is part of wider economic reforms
launched by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and would open up one of
Africa's last remaining state-controlled telecoms markets.
Last month, Ethiopia received twelve bids from telecom firms
for two telecom licences it plans to award to multinational
mobile operators.
The firms include France's Orange, MTN Group
of South Africa, UAE's Etisalat, and a
consortium made up of Vodafone, Vodacom and
others.
($1 = 34.8696 birr)
(Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw; editing by Elias Biryabarema and
Barbara Lewis)