Following the recent announcement of CK Hutchison’s plans to sell the Port of Felixstowe, the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office has issued a comment.
Recently, CK Hutchison, the Hong Kong-based group, confirmed plans to sell to a consortium comprising MSC’s port division, Terminal Investment Ltd (TiL) and hedge fund giant BlackRock, claiming it would “deliver cash proceeds in excess of $19bn to the group”. The sale comprised 80% of its port holdings to MSC, including its operations at both ends of the Panama Canal and its EU holdings including Felixstowe, Harwich and Thamesport.
On 13 March, the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) shared a commentary describing the deal as a “betrayal of all Chinese people”, HKMAO republished an article published in the Beijing-backed outlet Ta Kung Pao. The piece was heavily critical of the idea that the transaction was “ordinary business practice”.
This reaction is hardly surprising given deteriorating relations stemming from higher tariffs and additional levies for Chinese-built vessels for each berthing in the USA.
Some commentators believe that this is a warning to CK Hutchison to re-consider the deal which BIFA reported on the 6th March this year:
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