Ethiopia is in the process of negotiations with multinational retailer Walmart to facilitate the entry of the corporation in the
Ethiopian market.
A delegation sent by the Ethiopian government met with officials from the US based corporation last week according to sources.
The Ethiopian government is considering the move to invite Walmart as part of ongoing efforts to curb the surge of commodity prices.
The Ethiopian government has been considering multinational corporations that are experienced in wholesale distribution, such as Wall-Mart it was said.
A group of experts representing the government have been on a visit to India to review how such companies were attracted in to the market there.
Ethiopia is exerting effort to control annual inflation rates which rose again to 36.3% in February from 32% in January and the overhaul of the management of the Merchandise Wholesale and Import Trade Enterprise including inviting an international corporation to takeover.
MWITE is in the process of introducing institutional reform although to enhance operations according to Gemeda Aleme, newly appointed General Manager although the Ethiopian government is considering subcontracting its management to an international company.
Walmart is said to be one of the largest corporations in the world placing number 18 on the Forbes Global 2000 list ranked by revenue. The multinational corporation is the biggest private employer in the world with 2 million employees.
The company is controlled by the family of founder Sam Walton.
