CK Hutchison’s Panama port deal delayed, sources: no signing next week

CK Hutchison Holdings (0001.HK) has delayed the sale of its Panama port assets, with sources indicating that no agreement will be finalized next week as initially expected.

The conglomerate, controlled by billionaire Li Ka-shing, had entered into a preliminary agreement with a BlackRock-led consortium, BlackRock-TiL, to divest its international port operations outside of Hong Kong and mainland China. The transaction, covering 43 ports valued at US$19billion (HK$148.2 billion), was originally slated for completion by April 2.

However, a senior insider close to CK Hutchison’s management told Sing Tao Headline that the signing of the Panama port deal will not proceed next week. When pressed for details, the source remarked, “You all understand!”