Further disposals on the cards for Jaiprakash?

Jaiprakash Associates Ltd may divest of two further cement units, channel checks by Mumbai broker Prabhudas Lilladher indicate.

The two units reported to go on the block are Jaiprakash's 5Mta plant in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh and the 2.2Mta works in Bhilai in the eastern state of Chhattisgarh. "We believe that exit of JPA (Jaiprakash) would be positive for the sector with the revival of rational pricing and sensible capacity addition," the research house said.

Last week, UtraTechCement said its board of directors have approved in principle the acquisition of the Madhya Pradesh assets of Jaiprakash Associates Ltd. In 2013, UltraTech purchased Jaiprakash’s cement plant in Gujarat which has a capacity of 4.8Mt.