The government issues an expression of interest (EOI) to sell eight sugar millers, with acquisition highs of 100 percent.
It can be recalled that in 2019 through the Ministry of Finance, the government had issued a request for proposal (RFI) on the way to privatizing selected sugar factories.
This time around, under the EOI, the government has appointed Ernst and Young LLP as the lead transaction advisor to assist with the transaction process.
On the invitation notice issued on August 19, the Ethiopian government disclosed that it has initiated holistic reform aiming at increasing private sector participation in the ownership and control of sugar companies to sustain rapid and inclusive economic growth by laying the ground for economic transformation that leverages the increasing role of the private sector.
The government has invited international and domestic investors to participate in the tendering of eight sugar factories; Omo Kuraz 1, 2, 3, 5, Arjo Dedessa, Kessem, Tana Beles, and Tendaho.
Most of the mills are recently built.
Interested investors have been invited to acquire up to 100 percent of the sugar factories that have been built in great infrastructure, abundant water, land resources and excellent cane growing agro climatic conditions.
The invitation notice stated that in addition to sugar production the enterprises were engaged in the production of ethanol and electricity for internal use and for supply to the national grid.
When the political economic reform was introduced in 2018, the government passed a decision that mega enterprises would be partly or fully privatized. Inclusive of that was the sugar sector and it was actually among the first ones to get on board of the privatization pipeline. However, excluding issuing RFIs, so far further processes had not been conducted.