Economics

Africa’s ‘Sleeping Giant’ Courts Foreign Investors With Reforms

  • Ethiopian government invites foreign bidders for telecoms
  • Stakes available in airline, shipping company under new leader

City buildings stand on the city skyline beyond corrugated iron shacks in Addis Ababa.

Photographer: Xaume Olleros/Bloomberg

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Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most-populous country and the continent’s fastest growing economy, is inviting big business to cash in.

For so long a closed shop, the Horn of Africa nation on Tuesday invited foreign investors to buy stakes in state-owned telecoms, shipping, power generation and aviation companies, a rare opportunity to access such a large market. The bonanza will extend to railways, sugar mills and industrial parks, with the top brass of the ruling party embarking on long-awaited market reforms.