MADRID, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Spanish telecoms company

Telefonica has hired investment bank JPMorgan ( JPM )

to evaluate a possible sale of Argentina business, newspaper

Expansion reported on Wednesday, citing unidentified sources

close to the process.

Potential buyers include Luxembourg-based Millicom,

which is present in several markets in Latin America, plus

French telecoms operator Iliad as well as Argentinian investors,

Expansion said.

JPMorgan ( JPM ) declined to comment and a spokesperson for

Telefonica did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Telefonica, which replaced CEO Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete

unexpectedly two weeks ago, has carried out a series of asset

sales in Latin America over the past two years to reduce debt

and to help fund investment in 5G mobile networks.

(Reporting by Inti Landauro

Editing by David Goodman

)