HONG Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison announced it was eyeing inviting a Chinese "major strategic investor" to join a US-led consortium negotiating the sale of its global ports business outside China, including operations at the Panama Canal.
In a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday, the Hong Kong-based conglomerate noted that the period for exclusive negotiations with the consortium has expired, but it remains in discussions with members of the group "with a view to inviting (a) major strategic investor from the mainland to join as a significant member of the consortium."
"Changes to the membership of the consortium and the structure of the transaction will be needed for the transaction to be capable of being approved by all relevant authorities," the firm said, according to media reports.
"The Group intends to allow such time as is required for such discussions to achieve [that]."
The company's plan to sell its US$22.8 billion ports business, which would include two ports along the strategically important Panama Canal, to a consortium led by BlackRock and Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte's family-run shipping company MSC, has become politicised amid an escalating China-US trade war.
The sale was seen as a political victory for US President Donald Trump, who had vowed to "take back" the Panama Canal from alleged Chinese control, drawing Beijing's ire.
But in April, China's top market regulator said it was paying close attention to CK Hutchison's planned sale and that parties to the deal should not try to avoid an antitrust review.
Beijing's stance on the planned deal was made public after pro-China media launched a stinging criticism, saying China had significant national interests in the transaction and it would be a betrayal of the country.
China's biggest shipping company Cosco was set to join the consortium and was requesting veto rights or equivalent powers, Bloomberg News reported.
Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Denise Wong said that "ongoing negotiations and the reported inclusion of Cosco Shipping in the consortium have likely eased concerns over Chinese regulatory hurdles, strengthening investor confidence in the deal's viability".
https://www.shippingazette.com/news?news_id=9250700001361
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