Ethiopia on Tuesday launched a process to partially privatise its state-owned carrier Ethio Telecom, a major step in Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's plans to open the country's tightly-controlled economy. The announcement came just days before Ethiopians go to the polls on June 21 and Abiy seeks a popular mandate afer rising to power in 2018 following years of anti-government protest. The Ministry of Finance said the government was "ready to release an expression of interest (EOI) for the sale of a 40 percent stake in Ethio Telecom". "The issuance of the EOI 15 June 2021 will allow international investors to express interest in acquiring a stake in Ethio Telecom, one of the largest telecom operators in Africa," it said in a statement. Investors have 30 days to put their bids forward, before a second phase of the process is opened. The government hopes opening up Ethio Telecom will make the behemoth carrier -- which has 44 million subscribers -- more competitive and efficient. As part of breaking up its monopoly hold over the sector, Ethiopia this year also issued a tender to award two licenses to private telecommunication operators. In late May, one license was awarded to a consortium led by Kenya's Safaricom, which offered $850 million and promised to invest $8.5 million over 10 years, officials said. A second bid by South Africa's MTN was deemed too low and turned down. Another tender for the second license should be issued soon, according to the Ethiopian Communications Authority. str-md/np/wai