(Corrects the company name in the second paragragh to Hutchison Global Communications)

HONG KONG, June 8 (Reuters) - A consortium of private equity firms TPG Capital Management and MBK Partners, as well as telecoms firm HKBN Ltd, are preparing separate bids for the fixed-line phone unit of Hong Kong's richest man, Li Ka-Shing, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Hutchison Global Communications (HGC), a unit of Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings Ltd, provides a range of fixed-line telecommunications services in Hong Kong and overseas for corporates and residential users.

The HGC business is expected to be valued at about $1.5 billion, five sources told Reuters.

Representatives of HGC and HKBN did not immediately respond to request for comment, while TPG and MBK declined to comment. (Reporting by Carol Zhang, Prakash Chakravarti, Chien Wong; additional reporting by Elzio Barreto and Donny Kwok; Writing by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Stephen Coates)