The sale of global port facilities to U.S.-based investor BlackRock and Mediterranean Shipping Company by Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison could be blocked by China, unless shipping company Cosco is included, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing anonymous sources.
Hutchison said in March it planned to sell its 80% share of port terminals through subsidiary Hutchison Port Holdings at 43 ports in 23 countries for $22.8 billion.
The company is controlled by billionaire Li Ka-shing.
The prospective sale would include terminals near the Panama Canal, the waterway President Donald Trump said is a strategic priority for the United States.
Based in Geneva, MSC is the world’s largest container shipping line, with more than 800 ships and capacity of 5.6 million twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs).
The newspaper reported that BlackRock, MSC and Hutchison are amenable to a Cosco stake.
Hutchison, BlackRock, and MSC did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Messages left for the White House and Chinese media office were not immediately returned.
The report added an agreement is not expected before a July 27 deadline for exclusive talks among BlackRock, MSC and Hutchison, the report added.
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