Ethiopia's Sovereign Wealth Fund Absorbs Eight Public Enterprises into Portfolio

Ethiopia's sovereign wealth fund has added eight state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to its portfolio of companies. Under the stewardship of recently appointed CEO, Brook Taye (PhD), Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH) has incorporated the eight SOEs formerly managed by the Public Enterprise Holdings & Administration(PEHA) into its portfolio estimated to be worth billions of dollars.

The newly added SOEs include Ethio Post, Ethio Engineering Group, Ethiopian Industrial Inputs Development Enterprise, Ethiopian Railway Corporation, Industrial Parks Development Corporation, Development Bank of Ethiopia, and Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation, as well as Ethio Pharma Group's subsidiaries, the National Veterinary Institute and ShieldVax.

EIH was established nearly four years ago with 28 SOEs under its portfolio and 100 billion birr capital. Its founding CEO was the current governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia, Mamo Mihretu. Some enterprises were left under PEHA as their accrued debts were poised for absorption by the Liability & Asset Management Corporation (LAMC). The Corporation failed to mobilize adequate resources to settle the debts despite kicking off with nearly 850 million dollars in proceeds from the sale of a telecom permit to the Safaricom consortium of investors.

EIH is currently leading extensive reforms in the management of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), including restructuring the board of Ethiopia's largest bank, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), which has historically been heavily influenced by public officials.  

The new appointees to CBE's board include Henok Teferra, Managing Director of Boeing Africa; Mahlet Kassa, a partner at Lidet Abebe Tizazu Law Office in collaboration with Italy's BonelliErede; and Henok Assefa, founding manager of Precise Consult and co-founder of the Addis Abeba Angels Network.

"Our goal is to modernize Ethiopia's SOEs and enhance their global competitiveness," Brook noted.

According to a press statement sent to Shega, EIH will focus on supporting these enterprises to maximize their potential through corporate governance, improved operational efficiency, and strategic investments aligned with national priorities. It also aims to attract both domestic and international investors.

Some of the new SOEs under EIH were some of the most indebted public enterprises in the country. A recent bill ratified by Parliament approved the issuance of nearly 854 billion birr bonds to settle non-performing loans owed by the SOEs to CBE.

At least five SOEs under EIH are also poised for listing in Ethiopia's maiden stock exchange.