Jaypee To Sell Stake In Cement Unit

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><root available-locales="en_US," default-locale="en_US"><static-content language-id="en_US"><![CDATA[<p>India's Jaypee Group, the $3 billion engineering and construction conglomerate, is in talks to sell a stake in its cement unit Jaiprakash Associates, the Economic Times newspaper reported on Monday citing a company executive.<br><br>Jaypee has approached a number of investors including Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings regarding a stake in Jaiprakash, India's fourth-largest cement company by sales, group managing director Manoj Gaur was quoted as saying.<br><br>The stake sale is part of fundraising to reduce the group's debt, which stands at around $8 billion, the report said.<br><br>A spokesman for Jaiprakash, which has production capacity of 26.20 million tonnes, could not be reached for comment.<br><br>Cement firms in India, the world's second-largest producer after China, have seen reduced demand in recent quarters on excess supply and a slump in construction due to high interest rates and slowing economic growth.<br><br>Switzerland's Holcim owns a 46 per cent stake in ACC and Ambuja Cements India's second and third-largest cement firms.<br><br>Jaiprakash, ACC, Ambuja and industry leader Ultratech control around 50 per cent of India's cement market.<br><br></p> <p>(Reuters)</p>