How BlackRock and an Italian shipping dynasty are upending Middle East’s port business
Step aside China’s Cosco and the UAE’s Dubai Ports World – the Middle East has a flashy new port power. It’s an alliance between the $11 trillion American asset manager BlackRock and a secretive Italian family that owns the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC).
Their consortium reached a $22.8bn deal in March to take over 43 ports owned by CK Hutchison, a Hong Kong-listed conglomerate owned by one of Asia’s richest men, 96-year-old billionaire Li Ka-shing.
The deal grabbed headlines because it is set to give BlackRock and MSC control of two ports at either end of the Panama Canal, the strategic waterway US President Donald Trump threatened to conquer to reduce China’s influence in the western hemisphere.
But the deal’s impact extends far beyond Panama. The Trump administration is moving to reduce Beijing’s influence over global supply chains, and the Middle East is being swept up in the crossfire.
Source: Middleeasteye
