CK Hutchison Confirms Aponte’s MSC As Main Investor in Global Ports Deal

CK Hutchison has confirmed that Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte’s family-run MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company is the primary investor in the $22.8 billion sale of its global ports business, Reuters reporters Jessie Pang and Donny Kwok wrote.

Though MSC is headquartered in Switzerland, its control by the Italian Aponte family has made the deal geopolitically sensitive. I Photo: MSCItalia

The confirmation from Hutchison co-managing director Dominic Lai came during the company’s annual general meeting, amid growing scrutiny in China over the proposed sale to a consortium led by U.S. investment firm BlackRock.

Asked if MSC is the major investor, Lai said, “Yes, it has been from the beginning.”

Though MSC is headquartered in Switzerland, its control by the Italian Aponte family has made the deal geopolitically sensitive. The transaction includes two key ports near the Panama Canal, drawing the attention of regulators in Beijing and the U.S. government.

China’s market regulator warned in April that the sale would be subject to antitrust review, while U.S. President Donald Trump praised the deal as a way to reduce Chinese influence around the canal, calling it a “reclaiming” of the waterway.

CK Hutchison, controlled by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, has pledged that the transaction will comply with all regulatory standards.