On March 4, CK Hutchison Holdings, owned by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, announced that it had reached an agreement in principle with a consortium led by BlackRock. CK Hutchison will sell 43 ports across 23 countries, including the two ports located along the Panama Canal for a total of $22.8 billion. In a Zaobao podcast, SMU Associate Professor of Finance Fu Fangjian discussed the controversy and its impact. He noted that from a business perspective, this decision benefits both the company and its shareholders. However, when a business grows to this scale, it is impossible to view decisions purely from a commercial standpoint. If port operations are handed over to the Americans, and if they pose a potential threat to China’s trade, then this becomes a matter of national concern.
