THE BUSINESS POLITICISATION
The deal was “purely commercial in nature and utterly related to current social media reports regarding the Panama Ports,” according to CK Hutchison’s co-managing producer Frank Sixt. However, later events have demonstrated that the transaction is much more than just a commercial one.
According to US media reports, BlackRock’s chairman and CEO Larry Fink reportedly contacted Mr. Trump to discuss the Panama Canal package. This raises questions about the Li mother’s growing partnership with Chinese management.
During the first 20 years of transformation and beginning, Mr. Li Ka-shing, who was dubbed” Superman” by the Hong Kong media for his business skills and contacts, had recently secured unique meetings with China’s officials, including Jiang Zemin and Deng Xiaoping. But, his mother’s ties to Beijing have cooled over the past 20 years.
The Li home may not have the same access to Zhongnanhai, the mixture where China’s leading officials reside and work, which is regarded as the equivalent of the White House, even though Mr. Fink has immediate access to Mr. Trump.
Maybe the Li community is simply a businessman or that obtaining Beijing’s consent would make things worse. In any case, the resulting controversy may serve as a wake-up call for them and another Hong Kong tycoons.
I find it upsetting to suggest that the politicisation of company, particularly in multibillion international talks in corporate industries, will become the norm everywhere, including in the US, China, and Hong Kong.
Past South China Morning Post Editor-in-Chief Wang Xiangwei He is currently a journalist at Hong Kong Baptist University.