Arbaco 23-Octo-2024 {HMC} Ethiopia’s state-owned telecommunications company has started selling shares to the public, in a move aimed at establishing a new national stock market and giving Ethiopians a stake in the company, one of the country’s largest and most profitable.

Ethio Telecom will be the first company listed on the new Ethiopian Securities Exchange, or ESX, which is set to begin operating in November. It will be the country’s first stock market since the 1970s.

Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said last Wednesday that the 130-year-old Ethio Telecom is offering 10% of its shares to the public, 100 million shares in all.

Investors, who must be Ethiopian nationals, can buy up to 3,333 shares of the company at a price of 300 birr, or about $2.50 per share.

CEO Frehiwot Tamiru said the company will now be called Ethio Telecom PLC.

“Today marks a significant milestone as we launch the sale of Ethio Telecom shares, an essential step in our ongoing journey from political revolution to evolution over the past six years,” Abiy said in a post on X.

He said offering the shares lays “the groundwork for Ethiopia’s stock market and expanding access to ownership in one of the nation’s leading state-owned enterprises, which has now evolved into a share company.”

Ethiopia, once a communist country aligned with the Soviet Union, has gradually allowed greater foreign investment and has slowly privatized state companies, though the government still owns and controls key banking, telecom and transportation firms.

Not everyone sees the sale of Ethio Telecom shares as a sure winner for the Ethiopian public. Ethiopian economist and the executive director of Initiative Africa, Kibur Gena, is concerned that only wealthy Ethiopians will be able to invest in the company.

“This raises questions, in my opinion, of fairness and inclusivity,” he said. “Such a move might provide, of course, immediate financial benefits to the government; it could also perpetuate inequalities in wealth distribution and restrict, of course, broader public participation in national assets.”

Kibur argues that this approach to privatization could lead to a “deeper wealth gap” and make it harder for the majority of Ethiopians to gain access to economic opportunities.’

“This would certainly contradict the principles of economic equity, which many argue that, when you sell public assets or public resources, they should be distributed more widely to ensure that economic benefits reach marginalized or less affluent groups.”

Ethio Telecom sees it differently. To help ensure that the share sale is inclusive, investors can buy as few as 33 shares, purchasable for 9,900 birr ($82), according to a company post on Facebook.

However, many Ethiopians don’t even earn $82 in a month, according to World Bank data.

Asked why the privatization of state companies have been slow in Ethiopia, Kibur said it can be seen as a “pragmatic strategy to protect national development goals” and “maintain economic sovereignty.”

“In many ways, privatization may eventually happen and it is happening,’’ he said. ‘’Many economists would argue that it should be done gradually with strong regulatory frameworks in place so that it can ensure that it contributes to long-term development and social stability rather than short-term market efficiency.”

Abiy said Ethio Telecom generated about $829 million in revenue and $239 million in profit during 2023, noting the amount is the most income generated for the state, compared to all other domestic and foreign companies operating in Ethiopia, including commercial banks, combined.

“We are doing this so that people could have confidence in it and join the stock market but it would have continued to be profitable even if we didn’t sell shares,” the prime minister said.

Abiy hinted the government may offer more stakes for sale.

“The sale of shares that we started with Ethio Telecom may continue with Ethiopian Airlines, with hotels and other sectors,” he said.

This story originated in VOA’s Horn of Africa Service.

Arbaco 23-Octo-2024 {HMC} China’s Xi Jinping, India’s Narendra Modi and other global leaders have arrived in the Russian city of Kazan for a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies that the Kremlin hopes to turn into a rallying point for defying what some see as the Western liberal order.

For Russian President Vladimir Putin, the three-day meeting that got under way on Tuesday also offers a powerful way to demonstrate the failure of United States-led efforts to isolate Russia on the international stage over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov touted the summit as “the largest foreign policy event ever held” by Russia with 36 countries attending and more than 20 of them represented by heads of state.

BRICS – which initially comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China and later South Africa – has expanded rapidly to embrace Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have formally applied to become members, and a few other countries have expressed interest in joining.

Observers see the BRICS summit as part of the Kremlin’s efforts to showcase support for it on the international stage amid spiralling tensions with the West and to help expand economic and financial ties.

Proposed projects include the creation of a new payment system that would offer an alternative to the global bank messaging network SWIFT and allow Moscow to avoid Western sanctions and trade with its partners.

Putin is set to hold about 20 bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit, including Tuesday’s encounters with Chinese President Xi, Indian Prime Minister Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Putin meets fellow BRICS leaders
Xi told Putin there was a “profound friendship” between their two countries.

“The world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, and the international situation is chaotic and intertwined,” Xi said.

China and Russia “have continuously deepened and expanded comprehensive strategic coordination and practical cooperation”, he added.

Ties have “injected strong impetus into the development, revitalisation and modernisation of the two countries”, the Chinese leader said.

They have “made important contributions to upholding international equity and justice”, he added.

Xi and Putin announced a “no-limits” partnership weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. They had met at least two other times this year, in Beijing in May and at a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kazakhstan in July.

Russia’s cooperation with India has also flourished as New Delhi considers Moscow a time-tested partner since the Cold War era despite Russia’s close ties with Indian rival China.

Western allies want India to be more active in persuading Moscow to end the war in Ukraine, but Modi has avoided condemning Russia while emphasising a peaceful settlement.

Modi, who last visited Russia in July, said this visit reflects the close friendship between the countries. Speaking at the start of his meeting with Putin, he also reaffirmed New Delhi’s push for peace in Ukraine.

Putin hailed what he described as a “privileged strategic partnership” between Russia and India.

Ramaphosa, who has also urged an end to the conflict, praised Moscow as a “valued ally” and friend in his meeting with Putin.

“We continue to see Russia as a valued ally, as a valued friend, who supported us right from the beginning: from the days of our struggle against apartheid, right through to now,” Ramaphosa said.

On Thursday, Putin is also set to meet with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who will be making his first visit to Russia in more than two years. Guterres has repeatedly criticised Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

Source: News Agencies

Arbaco 23-Octo-2024 {HMC}  Experts from African countries that have reported mpox outbreaks, along with regional health organizations, started a meeting in Kampala, the Ugandan capital, Monday to assess the cross-border response to the spread of the viral disease.

The World Health Organization (WHO) Uganda posted on X platform that experts from 10 African countries, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), and the WHO Regional Office for Africa discussed cross-border collaboration to contain the spread of the disease.

They will identify critical gaps, improve information sharing and promote regional cooperation to combat the virus, the health body said.
The 10 African countries include the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan.

“Cross-border collaboration ensures prompt detection and response to disease outbreaks, standardized surveillance protocols, improved information sharing, and promotes regional and global cooperation,” said Charles Njuguna, the acting WHO representative to Uganda.

The death toll from Africa’s ongoing mpox outbreak has surpassed 1,100, with 42,438 cases reported in 18 countries, including 8,113 confirmed cases, since the beginning of 2024, according to Africa CDC.

In August, the WHO declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern, raising the alarm about its potential for further international transmission.

Mpox, also known as monkeypox, is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus, spread through close contact. Symptoms include fever, swollen lymph nodes, sore throat, muscle aches, skin rash and back pain.

Source Hiiraan Online