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The Hong Kong company selling ports in the Panama Canal to a group of investors led by the U.S. hedge fund BlackRock is drawing criticism. The deal was hailed by President Trump as part of his administration's efforts to reclaim the Panama Canal, but the governments of Beijing and Hong Kong are not happy. Reporter Sherisse Pham has more.
SHERISSE PHAM: It was supposed to be a win-win for CK Hutchison - a huge and, as financial news network CNBC described it, fascinating deal that caught the industry by surprise.
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CARL QUINTANILLA: Getting some breaking news on BlackRock today. For that, we'll turn to Leslie Picker. Hey, Leslie.
LESLIE PICKER: Hey, Carl. Yeah, this is some fascinating news, crossing just moments ago that BlackRock is agreeing to purchase Panama Canal ports and over 40 additional ports. This is from CK Hutchison Holdings.
PHAM: The company is selling its global ports business for a hefty price tag while also getting itself out of a geopolitical spat brewing over ports it owned in the Panama Canal. But now, the legendary Hong Kong group has found itself in the crosshairs of Beijing, even though in the U.S., it was seen as a conduit for Chinese influence abroad. Over the past few days, Hong Kong government websites reposted two scathing commentaries published by a Beijing-backed newspaper. One accused CK Hutchison of, quote, "groveling" and "profit-seeking" and "selling out all Chinese people." The other appeared to take aim at billionaire Li Ka-shing, CK Hutchison's 96-year-old founder and Hong Kong's richest man. Titled "Great Entrepreneurs Are All Patriots," the commentary questioned whether CK Hutchison's ports deal is, quote, "aiding and abetting evil and harming China and the world." Hong Kong's chief executive, John Lee, went a step further, suggesting Hong Kong businesses are being discriminated against.
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JOHN LEE: We oppose the abusive use of coercion or bullying tactics in international economic and trade relations.
PHAM: A CK Hutchison spokesperson has previously said the deal is purely commercial in nature and unrelated to geopolitics concerning the Panama ports. But now, the company is in the middle of a domestic political storm. Faced with the recent barrage of attacks, CK Hutchison canceled a regularly scheduled press conference on Thursday around their annual earnings report. And this week, its share price was down by more than 6%.
For NPR News, I'm Sherisse Pham in Hong Kong. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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