Panama Port Transactions: Who is the billionaire? How do the wealthiest people in Hong Kong angry with China?

U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly reportedly was “very happy” to a consortium including U.S. investment giant Blackrock.

In the slam of “infaithfulness” by Chinese media, we look at who Li Ka-Shing is and why Beijing is not satisfied, and what Li Ka-Shing’s Panama deal means in the US-China tensions and Donald Trump’s tariff war.

The richest man in Hong Kong: Who is the billionaire?

Hong Kong tycoon Lee Kahing’s business empire apparently angered Beijing at the crosshair after CK Hutchison Holdings chose to sell its Panama Canal port assets to a consortium including U.S. investment firm BlackRock Inc.

Over the past week, Beijing’s Hong Kong Affairs Office has made stern comments in Hutchison’s tentative deal, controlled by Li’s family.

This raises questions about the deal and highlights the difficulties faced by Hong Kong businesses between Beijing’s need for national loyalty and their own capitalist interests. This is what you know about this question.

The richest tycoon in Hong Kong

Nicknamed “Superman”, Lee is one of the 50 richest people in the world, with Forbes having a net worth of $38 billion. Li, 96, retired from his position as chairman of CK Hutchison in 2018 and was succeeded by his eldest son Victor. But he is still one of the most influential figures in Hong Kong.

Lee’s story of rag to wealth parallels the rise of the former British colony. His business empire touched almost every aspect of Hong Kong’s daily life, from properties and supermarkets to telecommunications and utilities. Globally, his conglomerate owns assets including the British drugstore chain Superpharmacy and European mobile phone network operator Thir.

Since 1997, a Hutchison subsidiary has operated ports at both ends of the Panama Canal. This is one of the reasons why U.S. President Donald Trump claims China interferes in key shipping lanes.

Lee’s influence goes beyond the business. He has met with top Chinese leaders and served on the Elite Committee, which has chosen leaders in Hong Kong.

Experts in relations between Beijing and Hong Kong said the ruling Communist Party leaders once understood that support from the business sector was crucial to maintaining Hong Kong’s capitalist system. Given the role its global network and resources play in the country’s development, this is strategically critical to the economy of mainland China. As a result, Lee has significant political influence.

But Lee faces criticism for certain business decisions. When he sold some of his mainland Chinese assets in 2015, an article published by the Chinese official Xinhua News Agency affiliated with a think tank accused him of being immoral.

Lee was criticized by some pro-Beijing supporters for his ambivalence over the unrest during the 2019 pro-democracy protests. Some other Hong Kong business leaders have taken a tougher stance.

CK Hutchison announced on March 4 that it will sell all its shares in Hutchison Port Holdings and Hutchison Port Group Holdings, including the BlackRock subsidiary’s global infrastructure partner and Terminal Investment Limited, hosted by Italian fleet Scion sciongo Aponte, which reportedly has a long-standing relationship with Li.

If approved, the deal is worth nearly $23 billion, including $5 billion in debt, which will provide consortium control of more than 43 ports in 23 countries, including the ports of Balboa and Cristobal at both ends of the canal. The transaction does not include ports in Hong Kong or mainland China. Hutchison said the deal was purely commercial in nature.

The deal made Trump happy but angered Beijing.

A Beijing-backed newspaper commented that the deal was a betrayal of all Chinese and said the company should consider which side to take. Another saying that great entrepreneurs are patriots shows that businessmen “with” predatory American politicians are destined to be infamous.

Comments on popular posts about the deal on Chinese social media platforms are often more critical than those for Li Yili.

CEO John Lee avoided direct criticism of the deal or Trump, but told reporters Tuesday that his administration opposed bullying tactics in international economic and trade relations, reaffirming Beijing’s position.

Ports have geopolitical value

Some unconfirmed reports suggest that Chinese leaders are angry and should not consult on the deal in advance.

George Chen, managing director of Asia Group, a business and policy consulting firm based in Washington, said Beijing may be disappointed because it has little time to design a response in advance.

Ports are valuable strategic assets and transactions involving them are always sensitive.

It is unclear whether Beijing’s pressure will affect the deal, which must be approved by the Panama government. The Chinese Foreign Ministry is biased towards a question of whether the authorities are investigating the transaction, saying reporters should ask other authorities.

Hutchison has not commented on the controversy. It was scheduled to report its 2024 financial results on Thursday, but said it had no planned press conference.

Chen said canceling the deal would be risky.

“Strictly speaking, you just let Trump honor this and then you later say ‘Sorry, I’m canceling the deal.’ You can imagine what Trump’s reaction is.” He added that this will also affect the outside world’s perception of Hong Kong businesses.

Trump’s first administration approved Chinese and Hong Kong officials to undermine autonomy in 1997 when British colonies handed over their colonies to Beijing, a concept known as “one country, two systems.” It promised that the city could maintain its Western-style civil liberties and economic autonomy for at least 50 years, but Beijing doubled its political control over the city after the 2019 protests.

Chen said Lee could try to appease critics, believing he was not enough to be patriotic because the proceeds from the sale of port assets were used to align with Beijing’s policies, especially in developing port operations in Hong Kong and mainland China.

But the relationship between private companies and Beijing remains uncertain, said Chen from Asia Group. He said that despite the recent meeting with private sector business leaders, some may wonder if they must follow the party, even if that may conflict with their business interests.

He said that if Beijing increases pressure on Lee, the Trump administration could impose more sanctions and restrictions on Hong Kong and Chinese companies and some.

Chen said the situation shows that Washington’s concerns about business autonomy in Hong Kong are effective.

“When it comes to the defense of ‘one country, two systems’, it’s bad.” Chen said.