China blocks sale of Panama Canal shipping terminals to US investor: Reports

CK Hutchison will not sign a deal as scheduled to sell its port operations near the Panama Canal to a U.S. investor and Swedish shipping line.

The Hong Kong conglomerate (OTC: CKHUF) controlled by billionaire Li Ka-shing on March 4 announced an agreement to sell control of its Hutchison Port Holdings marine terminals outside China to a consortium of BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) and TiL, the terminals arm of Geneva-based shipping firm MSC, for $23 billion. The announcement set an April 2 deadline to finalize the transaction.

The sale, which includes terminal operations at the ports of Balboa and Cristobal in Panama, followed public pressure from President Donald Trump, who has said the U.S. should retake control of the Panama Canal.

But published reports, citing weeks of public opposition to the sale by China’s government, indicate that the parties won’t sign off as scheduled.

The agreement has not been scrapped, according to reports in the South China Morning Post and Reuters.

Earlier, Chinese authorities warned away state-owned firms from any new deals connected to Li and his family, Bloomberg reported.

Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

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