Via Chanticleer today comes Michael Thawley weighing into the CK Group acquisition of APA, Australia’s gas pipeline monopoly:
FIRB has no doubt received the same anonymous documents sent to Chanticleer pointing out the fact that one of Hong Kong’s power utilities, HKEI, is one-third owned by CK Group and one-fifth by State Grid.
…”You might not have had to worry so much a few years back,” [Thawley] says. “But I think if you read what the Chinese government is saying about the future management of Hong Kong, and Taiwan for that matter, one has to be careful that governments make a very careful assessment of the pros and cons of these transactions.
“The other question we should ask ourselves is: what would be China’s response if a US or Australian company wanted to own a piece of critical infrastructure in China?
They don’t any bigger than Thawley, former Ambassador to the US, diplomatic titan, Howard advisor and Secretary of PM&C.
It is not a good sign for the deal.
