The federal government secures 4.6 billion Br in dividend from state-owned enterprises (SoE) that are under its ownership in the first half of 2021/22. Though it is a little lower than 4.7 billion Br target set to be achieved during the reporting period, it is expected to ease the burden of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) adminstration who is now facing mounting budget deficit since mid-last year.
According to the Public Enterprise Holdings Agency (PEHA), 25 SoEs have reported a gross revenues of 165.7 billion Br in the first half of this fiscal year, 74 percent jump from the last fiscal year. The SoEs grossed a profit of 29 billion Br during the same period, seven billion higher than the target.
The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, Ethio telecom and Ethiopian Shipping Lines & Logistics Service Enterprises are the top three leading SoEs. These institutions have been very instrumental in financing the defict of the federal government, which is now facing a huge budget gap because of bulging expenditure due to the war in North Ethiopia.
With the approval of a 122 billion Br supplementary budget recently, the budget deficit is expected to surpass a quarter of a trillion Br this fiscal year. Though it is largely finaced by treasury bills and direct advance from the central government, SoEs have been also critical in this regard.