Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings has said it would be impossible for the controversial Panama ports sale to proceed under any illegal or non-compliant circumstances after mainland China’s market regulator asked the parties involved not to circumvent an ongoing antitrust probe into the deal last month.
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Monday’s statement, the first directly issued by Li Ka-shing’s conglomerate addressing the controversy since Beijing raised concerns, said it had originally planned to discuss the details of the port transaction at its annual general meeting on May 22, but decided to issue a press release given recent inquiries from shareholders and the media
“CK Hutchison Holdings Limited hereby states that this transaction will absolutely not proceed under any illegal or non-compliant circumstances,” it said.
The statement added the relevant terms were outlined in the initial announcement on March 4, which said the completion of the transaction depended on fulfilling a series of conditions, including obtaining legal and regulatory approval, ensuring no legal violations or prohibitions, securing necessary shareholder approval, and meeting other appropriate and customary conditions specified in the final documents.
CK Hutchison dropped a bombshell when it announced the sale of its 43 overseas ports to a BlackRock-led consortium. The conglomerate is set to receive US$19 billion in cash under the US$23 billion deal.
The two ports the conglomerate operates at the Panama Canal have drawn intense scrutiny from both Beijing and Washington, with the strategic waterway becoming a geopolitical flashpoint in the superpower rivalry.