-Pays 5.8 bln Birr dividend in Q1
- The Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH), government's strategic investment arm, said that it is reinvigorating the role of State-owned Enterprises (SoEs) to generate a significant economic shift.
EIH's CEO, Brook Taye (PhD), stated that an all-out effort is being made to ensure the progress of enterprises by propelling the national strategy encompassing various constituents of diversification of services and products across key sectors.
He further emphasized that proper portfolio management, streamlined corporate governance and transparency among enterprises should also be strengthened to expand and replicate the successes in other key sectors to drive the economy.
Taking and managing SoEs from the commercial perspective and providing incentives among other policies measures are the major turning points that would help create robust enterprises, he said, associating with the past administrative scenarios.
Moreover, he highlighted that corporations are currently involved in many aspects of Ethiopians' lives, which in turn promotes the entire economy.
According to him, it has paid about 5.8 billion Birr dividend to the government over the first quarter, setting plans to generate a 14 billion Birr dividend in the current fiscal year.
Emphasizing the need to thoroughly manage and fueling efforts for enterprises efficiency, Brook outlined the far-reaching plans to cover any possible budget deficit in dividends through diversification and generated revenue in the next five years.
"Global market diversification and foreign exchange market issues under the SoE are also given priority to accelerate national economic activity," he added.
Over the last quarter, the Ethiopian Airlines generated approximately 2 billion USD and Commercial Bank 800 million USD, he remarked.
He has firmly expressed commitments to de-risk any situations and create other enabling environments to lure potential investors and expedite their market penetration.
The CEO noted that the recent introduction of the Ethiopian Securities Exchange would be a great milestone for the growth of state-owned enterprises.
With its strategic position and competitive labor market, attractive tariff offer and other facilities, Brook underscored that Ethiopia has become the major epicenter for domestic and international investment.