Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison said on Tuesday Panama authorities had threatened its employees with criminal prosecution if they defied orders to leave two strategic canal ports at the centre of a legal battle that has embroiled Beijing and Washington.CK Hutchison said Panama's decision to cancel key port contracts and grant temporary licences to Maersk and the Mediterranean Shipping (MSC)
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is on a mission to weaken China's global network of ports and bring more strategic terminals under Western control, according to three sources familiar with the plan.The drive is part of the most ambitious effort to expand U.S. maritime influence since the 1970s and is designed to address growing fears in Washington that it would be at a disadvantage
CK Hutchison's plan to sell most of its $22.8 billion ports business is unlikely to be finalised anytime soon, with political brinkmanship set to continue, and sources saying that a Sunday deadline for exclusive talks was likely to be extended.The Hong Kong conglomerate's plan to sell the business, which would include two ports along the strategically important Panama Canal
The United States will "take back" the Panama Canal from Chinese influence, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday during a visit to the Central American nation.After talks with Panama's government, Hegseth vowed to deepen security cooperation with Panamanian security forces and said China would not be allowed to "weaponize" the canal by using Chinese firms' commercial relationships
Hong Kong's CK Hutchison will not sign a deal next week to sell its two port operations near the Panama Canal to a BlackRock-led group, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said, amid growing pressure from Beijing.China's market regulator said it will carry out an antitrust review on the Panama port deal in accordance with law to protect fair competition and safeguard public interests
Some shipping companies are discreetly moving operations out of Hong Kong and taking vessels off its flag registry. Others are making contingency plans to do so.Behind these low-profile moves, six shipping executives said, lie concerns that their ships could be commandeered by Chinese authorities or hit with U.S. sanctions in a conflict between Beijing and Washington.
U.S. President Donald Trump has hailed a deal led by U.S. firm BlackRock to buy most of the $22.8 billion ports business of Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison which includes assets along the Panama Canal.The deal will give the U.S. consortium control of key Panama Canal ports amid White House calls to remove them from what it says is Chinese ownership.
Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison said on Tuesday Panama authorities had threatened its employees with criminal prosecution if they refused to leave two strategic canal ports at the centre of a legal battle that has embroiled Beijing and Washington.CK Hutchison said Panama's decision to cancel key port contracts and grant temporary licences to Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping (MSC) was
Panama's Supreme Court has annulled key port contracts held by a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison, leaving the future ownership of some Panama Canal operations unclear and possibly upsetting its plans to sell some terminals.Panama Ports Company (PPC), a CK Hutchison subsidiary
CK Hutchison said on Thursday its $22.8 billion ports business sale had a "reasonable chance" of going through after a plan to add a Chinese major strategic investor to the buying consortium, as it tries to navigate through Sino-U.S. tensions.CK Hutchison, based in the Chinese-controlled territory of Hong Kong
CK Hutchison on Thursday reported an 11% drop in underlying profit for 2024, as one of Hong Kong's most powerful conglomerates becomes increasingly embroiled in a political row over the sale of its ports business to a BlackRock-led consortium.The telecoms-to-retail conglomerate, owned by billionaire Li Ka-shing, said this month it had agreed to sell most of its global ports business
China's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) reposted a commentary criticizing CK Hutchison's port deal with U.S. firm BlackRock as a betrayal of China, sending shares of the Hong Kong-based conglomerate sharply lower on Friday.The repost of the critical state media commentary by China's governing body overseeing the territory highlights the complex geopolitical pressures the firm faces