How Li Ka-shing turned Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison into a Panama power player

The overnight decision of Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing’s company CK Hutchison Holdings to divest a strategic port near the Panama Canal amid US President Donald Trump’s political pressure to gain control over the critical global trade route has surprised the market.

The deal also included CK Hutchison’s interests in 43 container ports in 23 countries, and was valued at US$23 billion (HK$179 billion). The deal means the company only keeps its port interests in Hong Kong and mainland China.

The Panama Canal is of strategic importance as a short cut for ships crossing between Atlantic and Pacific oceans, allowing them avoid the lengthy, hazardous route around the southernmost tip of South America via the Drake Passage, the Strait of Magellan or the Beagle Channel.

The Post revisits how CK Hutchison’s port empire was built and looks ahead at what its divestment means to world trade.

How did the port empire start?

CK Hutchison Holdings is a major player as its subsidiary, Hutchison Ports PPC, has operated two ports at the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean entrances to the canal since 1997 via a concession from the Panama government.

The agreement was automatically renewed in 2021, allowing the company to continue controlling the ports of Balboa and Cristobal until 2047.