China's state-owned companies are expected to be among the parties interested in buying the unit, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The FT said bankers had sounded out potential buyers over the past few weeks.

The report comes a couple of days after Der Spiegel magazine reported Thyssenkrupp was considering reviving plans for a steel merger with smaller German peer Salzgitter.

Thyssenkrupp said it had no comment on the FT report.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter)