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Beijing is threatening to block a deal that
would transfer ownership of dozens of seaports to Western investors if
China’s biggest shipping company doesn’t get a stake.
The proposed sale by Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison includes 40 ports around the world, including two at the Panama Canal. The WSJ’s Costas Paris and Jack Pitcher write that China is pushing for state-owned Cosco to be an equal partner and shareholder of the ports with BlackRock and carrier Mediterranean Shipping Co.,
according to people familiar with the matter. BlackRock and MSC in
March reached a preliminary agreement with Hutchison to buy the ports in
a deal valued at nearly $23 billion. The companies are open to Cosco taking a stake, the people said.
Bringing in a Chinese company would likely upset President Trump, who has threatened to take control of the canal and objected to Hutchison’s ownership of two ports there. A deal including Cosco can’t be done before an agreed July 27 e |