Vodafone Group outlined plans to pass control of its Ghana operations to South Africa-based Vodacom unit in April, Bloomberg reported, as part of attempts to simplify its business.

CEO of Vodacom Shameel Joosub told the news outlet its Ghana division will retain its branding and the group won’t make an asset transfer.

The move builds on Vodafone’s efforts to make its global operations plainer and to focus on core markets.

In January, the operator group agreed to sell its 55 per cent stake in Vodafone Egypt to Saudi operator STC for $2.4 billion, a deal Vodafone CEO Nick Read described as “consistent with our efforts to simplify the group to two differentiated, scaled geographic regions, Europe and sub-Saharan Africa”.

Vodacom currently operates in Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Lesotho and Kenya.

The company, alongside MTN, has expressed interest in having an Ethiopian presence, following news in June 2018 the government was opening up the country’s state-run operator to domestic and overseas investors.

Joosub told Bloomberg he expected an information memorandum on the auction of licences in the country in April or May, with deals to be cleared in June.

The head of Vodacom added the company will partner with Kenya-based Safaricom on any bid.