Ethiopia to launch $800m mobile project with ZTE

Ethiopia reached an US$800 million agreement with Chinese telecom giant ZTE (000063.SHE) on Sunday to establish a 4G broadband network in the capital Addis Ababa and a 3G project throughout the rest of the country, Reuters reported. The transaction with ZTE is half of a US$1.6 billion project split with Huawei Technologies, the world’s second largest telecom equipment maker. Huawei signed the agreement last month. Both firms will provide low interest loans to Ethiopia through an arrangement known as vendor financing, Ethiopian officials and both firms said.