Latest news with #CKI
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Hong Kong giant CKI demands to rejoin auction of stricken Thames Water
The Hong Kong-based investor CK Infrastructure Holdings (CKI) is demanding to be readmitted to the auction of ailing Thames Water, days after its preferred bidder walked away and pushed it closer to the abyss of nationalisation. Sky News can exclusively reveal that CKI wrote to Sir Adrian Montague, the chairman of Thames Water, on Monday, seeking access to due diligence materials and insisting that it could be ready to table a formal bid to take control of the company within six weeks. In the letter, which was signed by Andy Hunter, CKI's deputy managing director, the owner of Northumbrian Water said it was keen to rejoin the Thames Water board's equity-raise process, roughly three months after submitting a multibillion pound proposal to take control. Money latest: Britain's biggest water utility has been plunged back into crisis by a decision last week by KKR, the private equity firm, to abandon its status as preferred bidder. Sky News revealed that the decision was made after talks between KKR and Downing Street officials amid concerns about the political risk of bailing out a company which supplies essential services to more than 15m people. Since then, Thames Water's biggest group of creditors - accounting for approximately £13bn of its vast debt-pile - has submitted what it described as a £17bn proposal to recapitalise the company. This, the bondholders said, would comprise £3bn of new equity and more than £2bn of debt funding. Existing shareholders would be completely wiped out, while there would also be several billion pounds of debt writedowns aimed at restoring financial resilience and improving services, The bondholders are reported to seeking immunity from prosecution for Thames Water's environmental failings, while they also want an agreement that Ofwat, the industry regulator, would drastically reduce the level of financial penalties facing the company. Last month, Thames Water was fined a record £123m over sewage leaks and the payment of dividends, with Ofwat lambasting the company over its performance and governance. Sir Adrian has run into yet more difficulties in recent days, with MPs on a key Commons select committee questioning evidence he had given to it and calling on Thames Water to claw back hundreds of thousands of pounds paid to a number of senior executives as retention payments in recent months. Under new laws, Thames Water is among half a dozen water companies which have been barred from paying bonuses this year because of their poor environmental records. CKI owns large swathes of British infrastructure, including Northumbrian Water, Northern Gas Networks, UK Power Networks and Eversholt, the rolling-stock leasing company which has been put up for sale. Its expertise in running major companies of the scale of Thames Water would resolve a headache for ministers anxious to avoid placing the group into a special administration regime (SAR), which would incur a multibillion pound bill for taxpayers. Ministers are also said to be wary about the lack of experience in the bondholder group at running a major water company, although Sky News revealed last week that the business veteran Mike McTighe had been lined up to spearhead their interest. "This is a proven operator versus a group of financial engineers," said one person close to CKI. However, a takeover of Thames Water by CKI could yet face stiff political opposition. In April, a cross-party group of politicians wrote to Pat McFadden, the Cabinet Office minister, expressing concerns about CKI's links to Beijing. Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative Party leader and a strident critic of Chinese investment in the UK, posted on social media last week that a CKI takeover of Thames Water "should be avoided at all costs". Read more from Sky News:Unemployment rate highest in four years CKI had already expressed frustration at being eliminated from the Thames Water process in April, with The Times reporting that it had written to Ofwat to express its dismay. In recent weeks, the government has described Thames Water as "stable", but said it was ready to step in and take control of the company if required to. The company effectively faces a deadline of late July to finalise a rescue deal because of a referral of its five-year regulatory settlement to the Competition and Markets Authority. The Hong Kong-based company declined to comment on Tuesday.
Edmonton Journal
03-06-2025
- General
- Edmonton Journal
Stollery Children's Hospital earns international certification for excellence in pediatric pain care
The Stollery Children's Hospital has recently earned international recognition for its commitment to pediatric pain care, becoming a certified ChildKind hospital. Child life specialist Alison Naylor uses buzzy, a non medical device that interrupts the pain signal from the poke to the brain, as Cameron Nagel,15, gets a needle to hook up an intravenous line by Angela Bokenfohr, clinical nurse specialist for trauma surgery and child kind at the Stollery Children's Hospital on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. The Stollery Children's Hospital recently received a ChildKind International (CKI) certification. CKI is global non-profit organization, dedicated to improving pediatric pain care around the world. Photo by Greg Southam / Postmedia For some families, the impact of pediatric pain care is deeply personal. Especially for Dana Nagel's 15-year-old son, Cameron Nagel, who has been in and out of hospital his whole life, undergoing more than 70 surgeries and many IVs, pokes and infusions. 'It's incredibly difficult to see your child in pain. At times, it made Cameron a shell of himself,' she said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by David Staples, Keith Gerein and others, Oilers news from Cult of Hockey, Ask EJ Anything features, the Noon News Roundup and Under the Dome newsletters. Unlimited online access to Edmonton Journal and 15 news sites with one account. Edmonton Journal ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by David Staples, Keith Gerein and others, Oilers news from Cult of Hockey, Ask EJ Anything features, the Noon News Roundup and Under the Dome newsletters. Unlimited online access to Edmonton Journal and 15 news sites with one account. Edmonton Journal ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors 'Having this team doing everything they can to recognize and treat Cameron's pain has brought a real sense of relief. He's happier, he seems to heal quicker, and is more co-operative with procedures because he knows people will listen to him and believe him when he says he's in pain.' The Stollery Children's Hospital, where Cameron has received care, has recently earned international recognition for its commitment to pediatric pain care, becoming a certified ChildKind hospital. It joins an elite group of only 20 hospitals worldwide to earn this designation from ChildKind International (CKI), a global non-profit organization dedicated to improving pain management for pediatric patients, especially children. Receiving a CKI certification indicates that a hospital meets high standards for best practices in pain care. Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'We're really proud of the work we've done and what it means for our patients. We know that all children, from infancy to adulthood, feel pain and deserve proper care for it. Sadly, this wasn't always the case,' said Dr. Samina Ali, a pediatric emergency physician and co-medical lead of the CKI efforts at the Stollery. 'As recently as the 1980s, newborn babies around the world were still having heart surgery without pain medications. We now know that this is wrong, and that untreated pain has short- and long-term consequences, including neurodevelopmental and socio-emotional problems. Most importantly, pain management is a fundamental human right, and we believe in providing the best pain care at the Stollery,' she said. Pediatric emergency physician Dr. Samina Ali talks about the ChildKind International certification the Stollery Children's Hospital recently received on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. Greg Southam/Postmedia Photo by Greg Southam / Greg Southam Reducing pain in children is linked to faster recovery, improved quality of life, and fewer long-term health issues. It also eases parental stress and improves the health care experience overall, said a news release from the Stollery Children's Hospital. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'When we listen to children, and manage their pain appropriately, everyone's stress goes down,' said Alison Naylor, a child life specialist at the Stollery. She noted that pain management doesn't always involve medication, but strategies like comfort holds, batching procedures, and distraction techniques can also make a big difference. Hospitals must meet strict criteria and undergo a comprehensive review process to receive CKI certification, which must be renewed every five years. cnguyen@ Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters . You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun Cult of Hockey Cult of Hockey Politics Cult of Hockey Crime
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Complacency on China risks bringing London ‘to its knees'
London risks being 'brought to its knees' by the Government's complacency over Chinese investment in critical infrastructure, MPs have warned. A cross-party group of politicians is calling for an investigation into CK Infrastructure Holdings (CKI) Ltd after it made a bid for Thames Water, the UK's largest water company. They claimed the deal would make a company linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) 'responsible for both keeping the lights on and the water running in the capital'. It comes after the Government passed emergency legislation to keep the blast furnaces running at British Steel in Scunthorpe where Jingye, the Chinese owner, was accused of industrial sabotage in a bid to make the UK reliant on steel made in China. CKI, which is based in Hong Kong, already owns the electricity distribution network for London, gas networks across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and another water company, serving 2.7 million people, as well as a power station and multiple wind farms. It will soon own 49 per cent of Vodafone-Three, the merged telecommunications company, and has recently bid for a major stake in Thames Water, which supplies water to 16 million customers in London and the South. Despite growing concerns about the business being subject to increasing influence and oversight from Beijing since Hong Kong was handed over in 1997, Ofwat, the water regulator, has said it 'would prefer CKI remained at the table' as Thames Water's future is decided. The private equity company KKR has been selected as preferred bidder for Thames, meaning CKI will only be given a chance to buy it if that deal falls through. Victor Li Tzar-kuoi, CKI's chairman, serves as a member of the 14th national committee of the Chinese people's political consultative conference of the People's Republic of China, a political advisory body tasked with promoting unity, democracy and consultation under the leadership of the CCP. His father, Li Ka-shing, a Hong Kong businessman, owns both CKI and CK Hutchison which owns assets in the Panama Canal. The business was admonished by Beijing over plans to sell this operation to Blackrock, a consortium owned by US investment company, after president Donald Trump criticised China's involvement in the strategic port. Last week, Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, said that for 'any major Chinese industrial company, there are always direct links to the Chinese Communist Party'. MPs have written to Pat McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, to raise their concerns. The letter, seen by The Telegraph, reads: 'The trend is clear and alarming – Beijing is exerting ever greater direct control over CK Hutchison and related companies' activities. 'Any activity not in Beijing's interests is regarded as a hostile act and cause for state intervention. Allowing CKI to expand its UK presence without scrutiny sends a signal that the Government is not concerned by Chinese interference. It also risks putting the UK at odds with the Trump administration.' Urging Labour to investigate the acquisitions made by CKI using its call-in powers under the National Security and Investment Act, the letter adds: 'A national security assessment is particularly vital in the case of the capital, where the electricity distribution networks owned by CKI, and the water infrastructure CKI aspires to own through Thames Water, are both critical to the functioning of Government, the military and the security services. Without power and safe drinking water, the capital would swiftly be brought to its knees.' CKI's extensive reach into the UK's critical national infrastructure includes a 40 per cent stake in UK Power Networks, the UK's largest electricity distribution network, serving 8.3 million homes, and businesses in London, the South and East of England. The rest of the company is owned by Power Assets Holdings Ltd, in which CKI is the largest shareholder and CK Asset Holdings Ltd, one of CKI's sister companies. The CKI-led consortium also owns Northumbrian Water, Northern Gas Networks, Wales and West Gas Networks and Seabank Power. The assets were acquired more than a decade ago, before China was widely regarded as a threat. Under the National Security and Investment Act, CKI's acquisitions since 2020 could be called in if they are deemed to create the potential for 'disruption, erosion or degradation to critical national infrastructure'. These include Phoenix Energy, the main gas distribution network in Northern Ireland, UU Solar, which owns 70 renewable generation projects, and 32 wind farms previously owned by Aviva Investors. The Vodafone-Three merger could also be investigated along with CKI's bid for Thames Water. The letter, signed by Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Labour MP Blair McDougall, SNP MP Chris Law, Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran and Lord Alton of Liverpool, comes as the Government attempts to pass the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill to improve the defences of critical services including power and water. The National Cyber Security Centre recently assessed China as a 'highly sophisticated and capable threat actor, targeting a wide range of sectors and institutions across the globe, including in the UK'. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
23-04-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Complacency on China risks bringing London ‘to its knees'
London risks being 'brought to its knees' by the Government's complacency over Chinese investment in critical infrastructure, MPs have warned. A cross-party group of politicians is calling for an investigation into CK Infrastructure Holdings (CKI) Ltd after it made a bid for Thames Water, the UK's largest water company. They claimed the deal would make a company linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) 'responsible for both keeping the lights on and the water running in the capital'. It comes after the Government passed emergency legislation to keep the blast furnaces running at British Steel in Scunthorpe where Jingye, the Chinese owner, was accused of industrial sabotage in a bid to make the UK reliant on steel made in China. CKI, which is based in Hong Kong, already owns the electricity distribution network for London, gas networks across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and another water company, serving 2.7 million people, as well as a power station and multiple wind farms. It will soon own 49 per cent of Vodafone-Three, the merged telecommunications company, and has recently bid for a major stake in Thames Water, which supplies water to 16 million customers in London and the South. Despite growing concerns about the business being subject to increasing influence and oversight from Beijing since Hong Kong was handed over in 1997, Ofwat, the water regulator, has said it 'would prefer CKI remained at the table' as Thames Water's future is decided. The private equity company KKR has been selected as preferred bidder for Thames, meaning CKI will only be given a chance to buy it if that deal falls through. Victor Li Tzar-kuoi, CKI's chairman, serves as a member of the 14th national committee of the Chinese people's political consultative conference of the People's Republic of China, a political advisory body tasked with promoting unity, democracy and consultation under the leadership of the CCP. His father, Li Ka-shing, a Hong Kong businessman, owns both CKI and CK Hutchison which owns assets in the Panama Canal. The business was admonished by Beijing over plans to sell this operation to Blackrock, a consortium owned by US investment company, after president Donald Trump criticised China's involvement in the strategic port. Last week, Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, said that for 'any major Chinese industrial company, there are always direct links to the Chinese Communist Party'. MPs have written to Pat McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, to raise their concerns. The letter, seen by The Telegraph, reads: 'The trend is clear and alarming – Beijing is exerting ever greater direct control over CK Hutchison and related companies' activities. 'Any activity not in Beijing's interests is regarded as a hostile act and cause for state intervention. Allowing CKI to expand its UK presence without scrutiny sends a signal that the Government is not concerned by Chinese interference. It also risks putting the UK at odds with the Trump administration.' Urging Labour to investigate the acquisitions made by CKI using its call-in powers under the National Security and Investment Act, the letter adds: 'A national security assessment is particularly vital in the case of the capital, where the electricity distribution networks owned by CKI, and the water infrastructure CKI aspires to own through Thames Water, are both critical to the functioning of Government, the military and the security services. Without power and safe drinking water, the capital would swiftly be brought to its knees.' CKI's extensive reach into the UK's critical national infrastructure includes a 40 per cent stake in UK Power Networks, the UK's largest electricity distribution network, serving 8.3 million homes, and businesses in London, the South and East of England. The rest of the company is owned by Power Assets Holdings Ltd, in which CKI is the largest shareholder and CK Asset Holdings Ltd, one of CKI's sister companies. The CKI-led consortium also owns Northumbrian Water, Northern Gas Networks, Wales and West Gas Networks and Seabank Power. The assets were acquired more than a decade ago, before China was widely regarded as a threat. Under the National Security and Investment Act, CKI's acquisitions since 2020 could be called in if they are deemed to create the potential for 'disruption, erosion or degradation to critical national infrastructure'. These include Phoenix Energy, the main gas distribution network in Northern Ireland, UU Solar, which owns 70 renewable generation projects, and 32 wind farms previously owned by Aviva Investors. The Vodafone-Three merger could also be investigated along with CKI's bid for Thames Water. The letter, signed by Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Labour MP Blair McDougall, SNP MP Chris Law, Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran and Lord Alton of Liverpool, comes as the Government attempts to pass the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill to improve the defences of critical services including power and water. The National Cyber Security Centre recently assessed China as a 'highly sophisticated and capable threat actor, targeting a wide range of sectors and institutions across the globe, including in the UK'.
