Report: China Merchants Joins Talks for Sale of CK Hutchinson’s Port Ops
China Merchants Group has reportedly entered into the negotiations in an effort to advance the stalled talks regarding the sale of CK Hutchison’s portfolio of global port operations. Bloomberg reports the second state-owned port and shipping conglomerate is being viewed as a possible contributor to help COSCO structure and finance the acquisition of the portfolio.
CK Hutchison announced nearly 14 months ago its plan to sell its port terminal operations in two deals. One was for the two ports in Panama and was to be led by BlackRock, while the second deal involved more than 40 global ports beyond China. It emerged that MSC Group’s Terminal Investment Limited (TiL) was leading the deal with BlackRock as an investor. BlackRock has been an investor in TiL and also acquired Global Infrastructure Partners, another leading investment manager in a broad range of infrastructure projects and assets.
Bloomberg reports the addition of China Merchants to the negotiations could help to finance the transaction, which was expected to yield CK Hutchison $19 billion. It said the ultimate structure was still being discussed, but it was bringing new life to the stalled discussions.
Previously, it was reported that the talks were exploring carving up the port terminal portfolio into several different structures so that China could have a lead in areas that are receptive to Chinese investment and that the government views as strategically vital. The reports had said it was proposed COSCO would have a majority stake in some geographic areas.
The solution to carve up the portfolio was presented, the reports said, after China insisted that a Chinese company had to participate in the deal and have a veto right. China has accused the United States of engineering the deal as a means to impact its ability in global trade. China strongly objected to the deal for BlackRock and TiL to acquire the international portfolio of terminal operations. It was also thought that after Panama cancelled the concession for its two ports, it might make the international deal easier to complete.
China Merchants Port Holdings Company has been a publicly traded company since 1992 and is a large participant in the global market. It reports operations at 46 ports in 26 countries and regions. CMPort says that in 2025, its domestic and overseas ports handled container throughput of 151.29 million TEU, up 3.8 percent year on year, and bulk and general cargo throughput of 530 million tonnes. Its overseas ports handled 38.94 million TEU, up 5.7 percent year on year.
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COSCO Shipping Ports highlights that as of the end of 2025, it operated and managed 387 berths at 40 ports globally. It says 238 were for containers, with an annual handling capacity of approximately 133 million TEU.
Media reports have speculated that the ports deal would be on the agenda when Chinese President Xi Jinping and Donald Trump meet in May in China. It is thought the talks will continue the discussions from last year on tariffs, rare earth minerals, and agricultural purchases. However, it was hoped it could also provide a basis for completing the port sale with CK Hutchison, saying earlier this year the deal was taking longer than expected. It has said that it continues to seek the sale of the terminal operations.