Hong Kong's CK Hutchison seeks Chinese investor to join Panama Ports deal
CK Hutchison Holdings' initial plan to sell port assets in dozens of countries to a group that includes U.S. investment firm BlackRock Inc. pleased President Donald Trump, who has alleged that China interferes with the critical shipping lane's operations in Panama. However, they apparently angered Beijing and drew a review from Chinese anti-monopoly authorities.
A Hutchison subsidiary has operated ports at both ends of the Panama Canal since 1997.
After months of uncertainty brought by tensions between Washington and Beijing, Hutchison said in a statement that the exclusive negotiations period with the consortium has expired.
However, it added 'the Group remains in discussions with members of the consortium with a view to inviting major strategic investor from the PRC to join as a significant member of the consortium,' referring to the People's Republic of China.
It said they needed to change the membership of the consortium and the structure of the transaction for the deal to be able to pass reviews by 'all relevant authorities."
The awkward position Hutchison found itself in for months highlights the challenges Hong Kong business elites face in navigating Beijing's expectations of national loyalty, especially when relations between China and the United States are strained. Hong Kong has overhauled its electoral system to ensure the city is run by 'patriots.'
CK Hutchison is owned by the family of Hong Kong's richest man, Li Ka-shing.
It announced March 4 that it would sell all its shares in Hutchison Port Holdings and in Hutchison Port Group Holdings to the consortium that also includes BlackRock subsidiary Global Infrastructure Partners and Terminal Investment Limited, a subsidiary of the Mediterranean Shipping Company.
In May, Hutchinson co-managing director, Dominic Lai told shareholders that Terminal Investment was the main investor. Its parent company is led by Italian shipping scion Diego Aponte, whose family reportedly has a longstanding relationship with Li's.
The initial deal, valued at nearly $23 billion including $5 billion in debt, would have given the consortium control over 43 ports in 23 countries, including the ports of Balboa and Cristobal, located at either end of the canal. That agreement also required approval from Panama's government.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
8 minutes ago
- New York Times
How the E.U. Wooed Trump With Flashy but Flimsy Numbers
When Donald Trump unveiled his trade deal with the European Union on Sunday night, he fixated on its size. And when the White House later released a fact sheet on the agreement, it trumpeted pledges by the Europeans for big investments in the United States. 'The E.U. will purchase $750 billion in U.S. energy and make new investments of $600 billion in the United States, all by 2028,' the document declared. But when the European Union released its own fact sheet on Tuesday, its description of that pledge was more muted — and far more noncommittal on spending outside of energy. 'E.U. companies have expressed interest in investing at least $600 billion' in 'various sectors in the U.S.,' the document explained. There's a reason for the equivocation: The European commitments are more like vague estimates than specific promises. The spending would come from private companies across the 27-nation bloc and would not be directed or enforced by European Union officials. The European Commission, the European Union's executive branch that is responsible for negotiating trade, can play a role in convening, organizing and encouraging big spending, but it cannot compel such outlays. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Post
9 minutes ago
- New York Post
Trump reacts to Starmer plan to recognize Palestine: ‘Could make the case that you're rewarding Hamas'
WASHINGTON — President Trump warned Tuesday that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's plan to recognize a Palestinian state in September if the Israeli government fails to meet certain conditions could reward Hamas and stressed that the US won't follow suit. 'You could make the case that you're rewarding Hamas if you do that,' Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One en route to Washington from Scotland. 'I'm not about to do that.' 3 President Trump and Keir Starmer in Scotland on July 28. REUTERS Earlier in the day, Starmer committed to granting Palestine UK recognition during the United Nations General Assembly in September, following in the footsteps of France, unless Israel takes 'substantive steps' to remedy humanitarian concerns in the Gaza Strip and agrees to a long-term plan for a two-state solution. Trump, who met with Starmer at his golf resort in Turnberry, Scotland on Monday, said that the British PM didn't tell him of his plan beforehand. 'We never did discuss it, and we have no view on that. We're going to get a lot of money to the area so they can get some food,' the president said. Last week, Trump had struck a more dismissive tone against French President Emmanuel Macron, chiding that 'what he says doesn't matter' and that the move didn't 'carry any weight.' 3 Trump and Starmer speak to the media at the Trump Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland on July 28, 2025. AP Starmer, Macron and other Western leaders have sought to ramp up pressure on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid to flow into the war-torn enclave amid troubling images of starved children in Gaza. Hamas has so far refused to give up remaining Israeli hostages to end the war and allow for a cease-fire, which many officials believe would make distributing aid in Gaza much more doable. The latest round of negotiations broke down last week. 3 Hamas fighters in Gaza City before the release of Israeli hostages on Feb. 1. MOHAMMED SABER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Over the weekend, Israel began allowing airdrops of humanitarian aid into Gaza. On Monday, Trump publicly cast doubt on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's denial that there was mass starvation in Gaza and said that the US intends to send more food to the Palestinians there. 'Those are kids that are starving,' Trump reflected Tuesday en route back to the US. 'You see the mothers. They love them so much. There's just nothing they seem to be able to do. They got to get them food, and we're going to get them food.'
USA Today
9 minutes ago
- USA Today
Trump, China trade talks move closer to extending tariff truce
WASHINGTON – The Trump administration and Chinese officials appear to be moving toward extending a 90-day tariff truce the two sides struck in May, but President Donald Trump still has not signed off on it. Momentum to extend the truce, in which both countries held off on imposing massive, triple-digit tariffs on imports on one another, came as a result of two days of U.S.-China talks in Stockholm. "We're going to talk to the president about whether that's something that he wants to do," U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Trump's top trade official, told reporters in Stockholm. "It's certainly something that's been under discussion." More: Trump's trade talks intensify with tariff deadline fast approaching Trump expressed optimism about the latest round of discussions between his economic team and Chinese officials as he returned to the White House from Scotland aboard Air Force One. "They're going to brief me tomorrow. We'll either approve it or not," Trump said, referring to an extension of the truce. China's top trade negotiator Li Chenggang said that both countries agreed to push for an extension of the trade truce, without specifying when or for how long. In May, the Trump administration and China agreed to slash tariffs for 90 days in a push to de-escalate a trade war between the world's two largest economies while the two sides continued to negotiate a long-term agreement. However, a long-term deal between the United States and China still hasn't come together ahead of an Aug. 1 deadline when Trump was preparing to impose higher tariffs on goods from nearly 180 countries. Under the truce in May, the United States reduced 125% reciprocal tariffs imposed on Chinese imports by 115% to a 10% baseline tariff, which matches the tariffs the Trump administration imposed on other countries. Trump's 20% tariffs slapped on China over fentanyl production remained in effect, meaning the U.S. tariffs on China totaled 30% overall. In turn, the Chinese government agreed to reduce its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports for 90 days from 125% to 10%. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who participated in the trade talks in Stockholm, said he believes the Chinese were "surprised" by the magnitude of Trump's recently announced trade deals with Japan and the European Union. More: President Trump announces 'massive' Japan trade deal with 15% tariff "They're never compliant, but I think they were in more of a mood for a wide-ranging discussion," Bessent said, calling the tone of the talks "constructive." Bessent said Trump's team conveyed the need for the United States to improve the trade balance with China in areas such as rare earth minerals, semiconductors and medicines. "We reiterated to them: We don't want to decouple. We just need to de-risk with certain industries," Bessent said. Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
