The ports-to-telecoms conglomerate gave no details on the amount to be raised in the listing, but said in a statement that the unit intended to raise about 40 million pounds in a separate placement of shares.

Hutchison China Meditech, which had sales of US$37.9 million (21.7 million pounds) in 2005, is involved in the research, development, and making of pharmaceutical and health supplements derived from traditional Chinese medicine and botanical ingredients.

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange had given the green light for the proposed UK listing and no approval was required from Hutchison's shareholders because the unit was not a major subsidiary of the group, it said.

The medical unit has no present intention to seek a listing on the Hong Kong bourse, Hutchison said.

Shares of Hutchison have lost about 1 percent so far this year, underperforming an 11 percent gain on the blue chip Hang Seng Index during the same period.

Investors are disappoined by Hutchison's move to scrap an IPO of its Italian third generation telecoms network, 3 Italia, in February after failing to fetch its target price.