Billionaire Li Ka-shing (李嘉誠), Hong Kong’s most famous tycoon, will not go ahead with the expected signing next week of a controversial deal to sell his Panama Canal ports to a consortium including BlackRock Inc, media reports said.
While Li’s flagship CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd will not sign the deal, which was expected to occur on Wednesday, it does not mean the sale has been called off, the South China Morning Post reported, citing a source it did not identify.
Significant details remain to be decided due to the complexity of the transaction, it said.
Photo: Reuters
Other local media outlets, including Sing Tao, also reported the agreement would not be signed.
The Balboa and Cristobal ports on either side of the 82km Panama Canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, form a key part of the deal involving a total of 43 CK Hutchison facilities. The Hong Kong conglomerate would net more than US$19 billion in cash, should the transaction go through.
It is the latest twist in one of the most geopolitically complicated deals ever for the 96-year-old business titan, given the two main users of the Panama canal are the US and China. Beijing’s concern was that the ports sale could threaten the country’s shipping and trade interests, while US President Donald Trump was celebrating it as the return of the canal back to US control from China.
The planned sale had highlighted the political risks for companies based in Greater China amid increasing trade tensions between the US and China.
That is despite CK Hutchison having limited exposure to both countries: The conglomerate is registered in the Cayman Islands and accrues only 12 percent of its revenue from Greater China, while Europe, Canada and Australia make up the bulk of the rest.
The move came after China told state-owned firms to hold off on any new collaboration with businesses linked to Li and his family, and authorities began looking into the transaction for potential security or antitrust breaches.
While CK Hutchison has kept ports in Hong Kong and mainland China out of the sale, the deal has been criticized by pro-Beijing newspaper Ta Kung Pao for “spineless groveling” to US pressure.
In a sign of state backing, the commentaries were reposted by China’s top office on Hong Kong affairs. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee (李家超) also weighed in, saying concerns over the deal deserved “serious attention” and vowing to handle the deal in accordance with the law and regulations.
Pro-Beijing media and people affiliated with Chinese authorities stepped up their criticism in the week ahead of the deadline for the signing of the definitive agreement. Ta Kung Pao ran articles almost every day denouncing the sale, while a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs separately said Beijing opposes strong-arm tactics for economic gains.
“China has always firmly opposed the use of economic coercion and bullying to infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of other countries,” ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) said on Thursday.
Taiwan will prioritize the development of silicon photonics by taking advantage of its strength in the semiconductor industry to build another shield to protect the local economy, National Development Council (NDC) Minister Paul Liu (劉鏡清) said yesterday. Speaking at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee, Liu said Taiwan already has the artificial intelligence (AI) industry as a shield, after the semiconductor industry, to safeguard the country, and is looking at new unique fields to build more economic shields. While Taiwan will further strengthen its existing shields, over the longer term, the country is determined to focus on such potential segments as
UNCERTAINTY: Innolux activated a stringent supply chain management mechanism, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure optimal inventory levels for customers Flat-panel display makers AUO Corp (友達) and Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday said that about 12 to 20 percent of their display business is at risk of potential US tariffs and that they would relocate production or shipment destinations to mitigate the levies’ effects. US tariffs would have a direct impact of US$200 million on AUO’s revenue, company chairman Paul Peng (彭雙浪) told reporters on the sidelines of the Touch Taiwan trade show in Taipei yesterday. That would make up about 12 percent of the company’s overall revenue. To cope with the tariff uncertainty, AUO plans to allocate its production to manufacturing facilities in
COLLABORATION: Given Taiwan’s key position in global supply chains, the US firm is discussing strategies with local partners and clients to deal with global uncertainties Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday said it is meeting with local ecosystem partners, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), to discuss strategies, including long-term manufacturing, to navigate uncertainties such as US tariffs, as Taiwan occupies an important position in global supply chains. AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) told reporters that Taiwan is an important part of the chip designer’s ecosystem and she is discussing with partners and customers in Taiwan to forge strong collaborations on different areas during this critical period. AMD has just become the first artificial-intelligence (AI) server chip customer of TSMC to utilize its advanced
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down