Ethio telecom Announces a Historic Share Sale Milestone

One of the strategic initiatives taken by the government under its Homegrown Economic Reform program which is designed to foster inclusive and sustainable national growth through wide-ranging economic reforms. One such reform was the establishment of the Ethiopian Capital Market, aimed at enabling citizens to gain ownership in State-Owned Development Enterprises. As part of this reform, and following comprehensive policy and legal adjustments, the transformation of Ethio telecom into a Share Company under the Ethiopian Commercial Code began under the guidance of the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA). With a proud legacy of 130 years of dedicated service to the nation, Ethio telecom started a new chapter in its journey.

Accordingly, the official sale of a 10% ownership stake in Ethio telecom was launched on October 16, 2024, and was initially scheduled to run through January 3, 2025. Upon presenting preliminary results to relevant government bodies and ECMA, the deadline was extended to February 14, 2025, allowing a total of 121 days (including weekends and holidays) for citizens to participate in the digital share sale.

Consequently, the result of the share sale has been reviewed by various levels of government bodies, as well as by the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA), and direction has been given for the result to be made public. Therefore, it is with great joy to announce today that our company has reached a crucial historical milestone, involving citizens across the country and enabling over 47,000 of them to acquire an ownership stake in Ethio telecom.

This share sale supports the government’s broader vision of accelerating inclusive and sustainable economic growth, and development, particularly by widely involving numerous citizens in domestic investment and fostering a strong capital market system. By conducting the entire sale digitally, Ethio telecom ensured that the process was fair, transparent, secure, and accessible, thereby contributing meaningfully to the realization of a digital economy and society.

Although numerous Ethiopians in the diaspora, institutions, and foreign-based investors showed significant interest in participating during the share sale, it was initially conducted to ensure the participation of Ethiopians residing within the country by setting a minimum purchase price for citizens.

This stems particularly from the government’s desire, by offering the country’s large and reliable Ethio telecom shares for sale, enabling citizens to invest confidently and subsequently gain experience in the Stock Market where they can trade their shares, thereby becoming economic beneficiaries.

Accordingly, through widespread participation, citizens across the country mobilized approximately 3.2 billion Birr, and 47,377 citizens digitally purchased over 10.7 million ordinary shares of Ethio telecom in a short period. Subsequently, the process of completing any missing information will be carried out through direct communication with each applicant, followed by the work of confirming their ownership in our company.

Following the completion of the share allocation approval process by the Capital Market Authority, we will officially announce the results, and the allocated shares will be registered at the Central Securities Depository (CSD). Our company will provide updated information to shareholders step-by-step until this process is finalized.

Furthermore, subsequent steps will be taken to list our company on the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX) so that citizens who become our company’s shareholders can then trade their shares on the market. And we will announce the detailed sales process for the remaining shares in the future. These shares will be offered to the market again in a manner that protects the rights of the current shareholders, and upon obtaining the approval of the relevant authorities.