Hong Kong's CK Hutchison assures ports deal not to proceed under ‘unlawful or non-compliant circumstances'
Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings has pledged that its controversial ports deal with a US-led consortium will not proceed under any 'unlawful or non-compliant circumstances.'
In a Chinese-language statement released on Monday, the company said it had planned to address the ports deal at its annual shareholder meeting on May 22 but decided to issue a statement after receiving enquiries from shareholders and the media.
CK Hutchison, controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing and his family, wrote that 'this transaction could not and would not proceed under any unlawful or non-compliant circumstances.'
The conglomerate announced on March 4 that it had entered into a US$22.8 billion deal to sell 43 ports, including two located at the Panama Canal, to a consortium comprising the US-based asset management firm BlackRock and global port operator Terminal Investment Limited, headquartered in Geneva.
CK Hutchison said at the time that the completion of the port deal was subject to a series of conditions, including obtaining consent and approval from the legal and compliance departments.
The group also gave assurance that there were no 'illegal or prohibited circumstances' involved in the transaction, and that they would get the 'necessary approval' from shareholders.
Panama ports
Since CK Hutchison announced the ports deal, attention has been drawn to the sale of its two ports at the Panama Canal – the Balboa and Cristobal ports – located on either side of the Central American country's waterway.
The Panama Canal is a primary route for trade as it is the main connection between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Over 40 per cent of US container traffic is said to travel through the canal every year.
The transaction came amid a deepening trade war between the US and China. US President Donald Trump has claimed that the Panama Canal is controlled by China and that the US should 'take it back.'
Beijing has criticised the deal, suggesting that the Hong Kong conglomerate is caving in to the US at the expense of China. Chinese state-backed newspaper Ta Kung Pao has published at least seven scathing commentaries about the deal since the sale announcement.
The op-eds, some of which were reposted by Beijing's top offices in Hong Kong, called the sale an act of 'spineless grovelling' that neglected national interests and 'betrayed and sold out all Chinese people.'
Hutchison Ports – a division of CK Hutchison – operates 53 ports in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Americas.
In the March 4 announcement, the company said that the transaction did not include the sale of its operations in mainland China and Hong Kong, where it has a total of 10 ports.
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