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Company to hold analyst conference at 5 p.m.

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Management expected to be asked about port sale updates

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Group raised in July prospect of major Chinese investor

joining

the bid

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H1 underlying profit forecast to rise 6%, UBS says

By Clare Jim

HONG KONG, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Investors will look for

comments from CK Hutchison ( CKHUF ) on the status of its ports

business sale to a consortium led by U.S. investment firm

BlackRock ( BLK ) when the Hong Kong conglomerate reports its

interim results on Thursday.

The ports-to-telecoms group will present its results at 5

p.m. (0900 GMT), offering analysts the first opportunity to quiz

the management about the plan to sell the ports business since

it was announced in March.

Departing from its usual practice, CK Hutchison ( CKHUF ) did not

brief analysts or media about its 2024 earnings, released after

it made public its plan to sell the business, which includes two

ports along the strategic Panama Canal.

Since the plan to sell 43 ports in 23 countries to a group

led by BlackRock ( BLK ) and Italian billionaire Gianluigi

Aponte's family-run shipping firm MSC was announced, CK

Hutchison ( CKHUF ) has faced a firestorm of criticism from China.

In the latest announcement on July 28, the conglomerate said

it was in talks with the consortium pursuing its $22.8 billion

ports business to add a Chinese "major strategic investor" to

the bid, after their exclusive talks ended.

It said changes would be necessary to secure regulatory

approval in relevant jurisdictions and that it would allow as

much time as needed to achieve that.

Sources have told Reuters the investor was COSCO -

one of the world's dominant, vertically integrated marine

transportation firms. They said COSCO was seeking a bigger stake

while the other parties in the consortium were keen to keep it a

minority.

While any stake by COSCO is not yet clear, an inclusion of a

Chinese investor would alleviate China's national security

concerns and have its blessing, the sources and other experts

have said.

U.S. President Donald Trump had earlier called for the

removal of Chinese ownership in the Panama Canal, which now

accounts for more than 40% of U.S. container traffic valued at

$270 billion annually.

Ahead of the results, UBS forecast a 6% rise in underlying

profit for the first six months, as ports and retail business

growth and a weakening dollar offset the negative impact of oil

prices. However, one-off losses, including from the completion

of the 3UK merger, could weigh on the conglomerate's net profit.

Morgan Stanley rated CK Hutchison ( CKHUF ) "overweight" last month,

citing potential strategic transactions, attractive valuation,

and strong balance sheet.