Chinese authorities increased pressure on CK Hutchison Holdings over its plan to sell its Panama ports stake by sharing a second newspaper commentary attacking the deal.
The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office on Saturday (Mar 15) reposted a commentary originally published in Ta Kung Pao, saying the planned sale of the ports by the Hong Kong company had triggered deep concerns among Chinese people and questioned whether the deal was harming China and aiding evil.
“Why were so many important ports transferred to ill-intentioned US forces so easily? What kind of political calculations are hidden in the so-called commercial behaviour on the surface? Great entrepreneurs are never cold-blooded and speculating profit-seekers, but passionate and proud patriots!” said the opinion piece in the newspaper, a publication that tends to support Beijing’s policies.
The Chinese government agency, the country’s top office on Hong Kong affairs, first indicated its displeasure over the transaction last week by sharing an earlier Ta Kung Pao commentary. That post drove CK Hutchison shares down 6.4 per cent on Friday, their biggest decline since 2020.
The conglomerate founded by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, this month agreed to sell off the bulk of its global ports business to a consortium led by BlackRock. The sale included a controlling share in ports near the Panama Canal, an apparent victory for US President Donald Trump after he had raised concerns about their ownership.
The first Ta Kung Pao commentary called on companies to be careful about which “side they should stand on”. It said social media users had accused CK Hutchison of “spineless grovelling” and “selling out” Chinese people.
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Under the agreement, CK Hutchison will sell 43 ports in 23 countries, while keeping facilities in mainland China and Hong Kong. The transaction is set to generate cash proceeds of more than US$19 billion.
Because the deal involves only overseas assets, it is unlikely to need Beijing’s sign-off, but the recent attacks have stoked concern that China might somehow try to intervene.
The fresh opinion piece lauded the “heroic actions” of Ren Zhengfei, founder of Huawei Technologies, a Chinese phone and device manufacturer that has long been targeted on national security grounds by the US and other Western nations.
“Both history and reality remind entrepreneurs at the forefront of the storm that in the face of the US’s bullying, only by standing firmly with the country and fighting bravely can they defend their country, win dignity and maintain their reputation,” the commentary said.
Those who choose to do the opposite, it said, may “make a lot of money for a while, but in the end they will have no future and will bear history’s blame”.
Calls and an e-mail sent to CK Hutchison offices in Hong Kong went unanswered outside of office hours on Sunday.
The apparent expression of disapproval by Chinese authorities underscores the balancing act facing executives whose companies get caught up in the widening China-US rivalry.
CK Hutchison and sister company CK Asset Holdings are registered in the Cayman Islands – a move carried out in 2015 as part of a group-wide restructuring. CK Hutchison accrues almost 90 per cent of its revenue from outside of mainland China and Hong Kong.
The potential purchase by BlackRock would be one of the biggest acquisitions of the year.
Before the agreement, Trump argued that China had taken over the critical waterway, without providing evidence, and that the US was paying too much for the passage of ships. He previously demanded the fees charged on US naval and merchant ships be lowered, or else Panama should return the canal to the US. BLOOMBERG
