Russian telecoms group, VimpelCom, has revealed plans to sell its market business in Africa in a bid to focus on more growth areas and mature markets in Italy and Russia, which make up about 70 percent of the group’s business.

According to  a Financial Times report, VimpelCom, which is the world’s sixth largest telecoms company by customer numbers, has spoken to potential buyers of its sub-Saharan African units from Burundi and the Central African Republic.

The company is also expected to sell its Zimbabwean business – Telecel Zimbabwe – after resolving outstanding ownership and licensing issues. VimpelCom stakes in Africa Telecom is valued at more than $60m with about $94m revenues generated from about 2.8m mobile subscribers across the businesses.

Apart from Africa, the telecom giant is also leasing off its businesses in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, all in the Asia continent.