Ethiopia's Abiy refuses to open up Telecoms, Banking to foreign investment

[Deeq A.]

WARSAW - Ethiopia is not yet ready for foreign investments in its telecoms and banking sectors, but is interested in developing its manufacturing, Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome Wirtu said on Tuesday.

The country, which has one of the last state telecoms monopolies on the continent, has let foreign companies including fashion chain H&M set up factories in a decade-long push to change the economic focus from agriculture to manufacturing.

“Ethiopia is not ready yet for accepting investments in telecoms and finance,” Mulatu said during a joint news conference with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda.

“Our priority is manufacturing sector. Ethiopia opens door broadly for investments in manufacturing sectors such as textiles, skin products, pharmaceuticals, food processing, and agriculture,” Mulatu said.

[Old_Observer]

Meles has fought both these items all through the years. If he was killed if then there were only 3 issues that could have got him killed:

GERD

BANKS

TELECOMMUNICATIONs (he called it mobile phones are next to the bank where is like printing money)

[Tallaabo]

I agree with the prime minister in protecting his country's financial system,  however I think it is not only unnecessary but counterproductive to deny foreign direct investment in the telecom industry. Global telecommunication technologies are changing all the time and not to be keeping up with the changes is foolish. Moreover, competition in the telecom industry is very beneficial for the paying public for healthy competition promotes in services and lowers prices. It is a fact that today Mogadishu with all its political and economic problems has a much better telecom industry than Ethiopia!! 

[Old_Observer]

9 hours ago, Tallaabo said:

It is a fact that today Mogadishu with all its political and economic problems has a much better telecom industry than Ethiopia!! 

That is very true, but Ethiopia has two telephone assembly plants, produces telephones where operating system is in Ethiopian languages, has complete control over security, economic issues, collects taxes, collects profits and uses this money for other projects. Ethiopia in this way is not only dumping ground, but a participant.

There is both plus minus pros and cons, but at the end of the day its the development plan/policy that trumples even some cases which d not make sense in global thinking.