ADDIS ABABA, Aug 8 (Reuters) – Ethiopia’s securities exchange is expected to start operations in October, its chief executive was quoted as saying by state-affiliated media on Thursday.

The establishment of a bourse is part of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s push to open up the country – which is heavily controlled by the state – to greater private investment.

All human resource and technological requirements for the bourse will be in place by October, the bourse’s CEO Tilahun Esmael Kassahun was quoted as saying by Fana Broadcasting.

Abiy said in February that the government was discussing the sale of 10% of state-owned telecoms company Ethio Telecom via the stock exchange.

Ethio Telecom held a monopoly before a consortium led by Kenya’s Safaricom won the country’s first private telecoms licence and started commercial operations in 2022.

Ethiopia’s economy is still grappling with the legacy of being a command economy for decades, but Abiy’s push since 2018 towards more private sector involvement has been notable for being more ambitious than previous attempts at opening up.

In late July, Ethiopia floated its currency ahead of securing International Monetary Fund support, a step that needed to happen before a long-delayed debt restructuring could begin.

(Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)