Pro-Beijing newspaper urges HK tycoon Li Ka Shing to scrap Panama port sale

A pro-Beijing newspaper has called on CK Hutchison Holdings to pull out from an agreement to sell its ports on the Panama Canal to a group led by BlackRock, marking an escalation of a pressure campaign on billionaire Li Ka Shing over the deal.

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HONG KONG - A pro-Beijing newspaper has called on CK Hutchison Holdings to pull out from an agreement to sell its ports on the Panama Canal to a group led by BlackRock, marking an escalation of a pressure campaign on billionaire Li Ka Shing over the deal.

The transaction will damage China's national security and development interests, directly violating Hong Kong's laws on safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, the Ta Kung Pao paper said in a commentary on March 21.

The article did not identify CK Hutchison as the Hong Kong company in question but did name BlackRock as the buyer.

CK Hutchison is expected to sign an agreement on the sale of its two Panama ports by April 2. It is the key part of a wider deal to offload 43 facilities outside Hong Kong and mainland China for more than US$19 billion (S$25.4 billion) in cash proceeds.

US President Donald Trump has hailed the sale as winning back control of the waterway from Chinese influence.