China's state-owned shipping company China COSCO Shipping is looking to join the global consortium that's acquiring Hong Kong business tycoon Li Ka-shing's overseas ports and is requesting veto rights or equivalent power in the entity which will take over 43 ports, Bloomberg News reported on Monday.
COSCO's argument is that such rights are important to block any decisions that could potentially be detrimental to China's interests, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Li's CK Hutchison Holdings and the original buyer group, which includes BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners unit and Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte's Terminal Investment, have agreed that COSCO should have full informational access to the operation for which talks are still going on and no final decisions have been made, according to the report.
The consortium is aiming to acquire ports, including two strategically important ones along the Panama Canal.
COSCO, CK Hutchison, BlackRock and Terminal Investment did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
(Reuters - Reporting by Yazhini MV in Bengaluru; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar)