Hutchison Whampoa, the ports-to-telecommunications conglomerate, is considering spinning off its Chinese herbal medicine business on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange, the second board that is equivalent to the Growth Enterprise Market in Hong Kong, according to a source close to the company.
However, the spin-off was not likely in the first half and the deal was not big enough to have an impact on the group's asset value, the source said.
He said the Chinese medicine business was still at a developmental stage and even the name of the listing candidate had yet to be finalised.
A Hutchison spokesman declined to comment.
Most of the firm's Chinese medicine operations come under the umbrella of Hutchison China, the conglomerate's investment subsidiary in the mainland, which is active in the manufacture and distribution of health-care, personal care and traditional Chinese medicine products.
It is the second time the group has spun off its biotechnology ventures.
CK Life, the biotechnology unit controlled by Cheung Kong (Holdings), drew a strong market response to its initial public offering in 2002.