Hutchison Whampoa to spin off port assets with Singapore IPO

Hutchison Whampoa, run by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing. plans to raise around $6 billion by spinning off its ports in Hong Kong and southern China into a separate entity  that would be listed on the Singapore stock exchange.

Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa yesterday said that it has applied to spin off Hutchison Port Holdings Trust, whose assets include deep-water container ports in southern China's Guangdong province, Hong Kong, Macau and other related businesses in the same area.

The company will retain a stake of about 25 per cent in the trust and the initial public offering (IPO) is aimed to raise funds for expansion in ports and other businesses.

It has appointed DBS Bank Ltd, Deutsche Bank AG and Goldman Sachs' Singapore unit as joint bookrunners and joint issue managers for the global offering.

Although it did not disclose the amount of money it hopes to raise from the listing, the diversified conglomerate could raise around $6 billion, making it to be the largest IPO in Singapore.

Hutchison Whampoa is the world's leading port investor, developer and operator with 51 ports across Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.

Its headquarters are at Hongkong International Terminals, the world's largest and busiest privately-owned container terminal operator.

It owns the Port of Felixstowe, Harwich International Port and London Thamesport in the UK and has a substantial interest in ports in Argentina, Australia, the Bahamas, Belgium, Egypt, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, the Netherlands, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Poland, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Tanzania, Thailand and Vietnam.