{"id":3713,"date":"2025-03-20T20:24:13","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T00:24:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.viewworld.org\/?p=3713"},"modified":"2025-03-20T20:24:13","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T00:24:13","slug":"hong-kongs-richest-man-is-in-hot-water-over-his-companys-panama-canal-ports-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.viewworld.org\/?p=3713","title":{"rendered":"Hong Kong\u2019s richest man is in hot water over his company\u2019s Panama Canal ports deal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

HONG KONG (AP) \u2014 Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing\u2019s business empire is in the crosshairs<\/a> after CK Hutchison Holdings chose to sell its Panama Canal port assets<\/a> to a consortium that includes U.S. investment firm BlackRock Inc., apparently angering Beijing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the past week, Beijing\u2019s Hong Kong affairs offices have posted scathing commentaries from a local state-backed media outlet over the tentative deal by Hutchison, which is controlled by Li\u2019s family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That raises questions about the deal and highlights the difficulties Hong Kong businesses face as they balance demands from Beijing for national loyalty and their own capitalist interests in the once free-wheeling Asian financial hub. Here\u2019s what to know about the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hong Kong\u2019s richest tycoon<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Nicknamed \u201cSuperman,\u201d Li is among the world\u2019s 50 richest people, with Forbes calculating his net worth at $38 billion. Li, 96, retired from his position as chairman<\/a> of CK Hutchison in 2018, succeeded by his elder son Victor. But he\u2019s still one of Hong Kong\u2019s most influential figures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Li\u2019s rags-to-riches story paralleled the former British colony\u2019s rise. His business empire touches almost every aspect of daily life in Hong Kong, from properties and supermarkets to telecommunications and utilities. Globally, his conglomerate owns assets including British drugstore chain Superdrug and European mobile phone network operator Three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Hutchison subsidiary has operated ports\u00a0at both ends of the Panama Canal<\/a>\u00a0since 1997. That was one reason U.S. President Donald Trump\u00a0has alleged Chinese interference<\/a>\u00a0with the critical shipping lane\u2019s operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Li\u2019s ties with Beijing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Li\u2019s influence extends beyond business. He has met with top Chinese leaders and has served on the elite committee that selected Hong Kong\u2019s leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experts on ties between Beijing and Hong Kong<\/a> said ruling Communist Party leaders once understood that support from the business sector was crucial for maintaining Hong Kong\u2019s capitalist system. It has been strategically vital for mainland China\u2019s economy, given the role their global networks and resources play in the country\u2019s development. So, Li has had notable political influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Li has faced criticism over some business decisions. When he sold off some mainland Chinese assets in 2015, an article published by a think tank affiliated with Chinese official news agency Xinhua accused him of being immoral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During pro-democracy protests in 2019, Li was blasted by some pro-Beijing supporters for his perceived ambivalence about the unrest. Some other Hong Kong business leaders adopted a harsher stance.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Panama ports deal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

CK Hutchison announced March 4 that it would sell all its shares in Hutchison Port Holdings and in Hutchison Port Group Holdings to the consortium that also includes BlackRock subsidiary Global Infrastructure Partners<\/a> and Terminal Investment Limited, which is chaired by Italian shipping scion Diego Aponte, whose family reportedly has a longstanding relationship with Li\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If approved, the deal, valued at nearly $23 billion including $5 billion in debt, will give the consortium control over 43 ports in 23 countries, including the ports of Balboa and Cristobal, located at either end of the canal. The transaction does not include ports in Hong Kong or mainland China. CK Hutchison said the transaction was purely commercial in nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The deal pleased Trump but angered Beijing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the Beijing-backed newspaper commentaries described the deal as a betrayal of all Chinese and said the company should think about which side to take. The other said great entrepreneurs are patriots, suggesting that businesspeople who \u201cdance with\u201d predatory American politicians would be doomed to infamy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comments on popular posts about the deal on Chinese social media platform Weibo tend to be more critical than favorable toward Li.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chief Executive John Lee avoided direct criticism of the deal or Trump, but told reporters on Tuesday his government opposes bullying tactics in international economic and trade relations, reiterating Beijing\u2019s stance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ports carry geopolitical value<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Some unconfirmed reports have suggested Chinese leaders were angry not to have been consulted in advance about the deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

George Chen, managing director for Hong Kong at The Asia Group, a Washington-headquartered business and policy consulting firm, said Beijing may have been disappointed because it had almost no time to devise a response in advance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ports are valuable strategic assets and transactions involving them are always sensitive, said Wilson Chan, co-founder of the Pagoda Institute, a think tank focusing on public policy and the global political economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is unclear whether pressure from Beijing will affect the deal, which has to be approved by Panama\u2019s government. China\u2019s Foreign Ministry deflected a question about whether authorities are investigating the deal, saying reporters should ask other authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cancelling the deal would be risky, Chan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStrictly speaking, you just let Trump take credit for it, then you later say \u2018Sorry, I\u2019m canceling the deal.\u2019 You can imagine what Trump\u2019s reaction would be,\u201d he said, adding that would also affect how the outside world views Hong Kong businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CK Hutchison has not commented on the controversy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company reported its 2024 financial results on Thursday, but did not hold a news conference. Victor Li did not mention the deal in his chairman\u2019s statement but said the operating environment for the group\u2019s business is expected to be volatile and unpredictable. He said he anticipated potential headwinds for the company\u2019s ports and related services in early 2025 as shipping lines transition into their new alliances and ongoing geopolitical risk impacts global trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Longer term implications<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first Trump administration sanctioned Chinese and Hong Kong officials for undermining the autonomy of the territory promised when Britain handed its colony to Beijing in 1997 under a concept dubbed \u201cOne country, two systems.\u201d It promised the city could keep its Western-style civil liberties and economic autonomy for at least 50 years, but following the 2019 protests, Beijing has doubled-down on its political control of the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Li could try to placate critics who deem him insufficiently patriotic, Chan said, by using proceeds from selling the port assets for investments aligned with Beijing\u2019s policies, particularly in developing Hong Kong and mainland port businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But relations between private businesses and Beijing remain uncertain, said The Asia Group\u2019s Chen. Even though Chinese President Xi Jinping recently met with private sector business leaders<\/a> in a show of support, some may wonder if they must follow the party line even if that might conflict with their business interests, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Beijing steps up pressure on Li to scrap the deal, the Trump administration could hit back with more sanctions and restrictions on Hong Kong and Chinese businesses and some individuals, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The situation shows that Washington\u2019s concerns about Hong Kong\u2019s business autonomy are valid, Chen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is bad when it comes to the defense of \u2018one country, two systems,\u2019\u201d Chen said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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