Cemex officially launched on Monday the Colombian initial public offering of its Latin American unit, with books open from 29 October to 6 November, the company said.

Cemex has set a range of between COP11,000 and 13,500 (US$6.03-7.40) per share for the offering of about 24 per cent of its Cemex Latam Holdings unit.

The minimum amount of shares it will offer will be 50 million, it said in a notice printed in Colombian media. The IPO could raise nearly US$1bn dollars.

Cemex Latam Holdings, which includes Cemex's cement and ready-mix assets in Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Brazil, Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador, will offer 126.6 million of its common shares, the company has said.