A deal by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings to sell all its overseas ports to a consortium led by US firm BlackRock has taken a fresh twist, with the revelation that the new majority shareholder will not be American, but a low profile Italian-Swiss family with ambitions to control global shipping.
Sources told the Post that the Aponte family was the mysterious driving force behind the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) that aimed to solidify its dominance at sea and continue the consolidation of container shipping with the US$23 billion deal to acquire a majority stake in CK Hutchison’s overseas port operations.
