Hutchison Whampoa Limited announced Sunday that it will sell 20 percent and 10 percent effective equity in Hong Kong International Terminals (HIT) and COSCO-HIT respectively to a Singapore company.

Hutchison Whampoa said that one of its subsidiary has reached an agreement with the PortCapital Limited, an investment holding company backed by Singapore's PSA International Pte Ltd for a cash consideration of 925 million US dollars.

Hutchison Whampoa will realize a gain of 5.5 billion HK dollars(707 million US dollars) upon completion of the transaction, which has been scheduled for June 22, 2005 or an earlier date as both parties may agree. The net proceeds from the transaction will be used for Hutchison Whampoa's general working purposes.

Commenting on the transaction, John Meredith, group managing director of Hutchison Port Holdings Limited said, "We are confident about Hong Kong's container terminal business. The strategic alliance will make HIT and COSCO-HIT even stronger players in this highly competitive market of container terminal operations."

Hutchison Whampoa is the flag company owned by Hong Kong TycoonLi Ka-shing. Its diverse array of holdings ranges from some of theworld's biggest retailers to property development and infrastructure to the most technologically-advanced and marketing-savvy telecommunications operators. Hutchison is one of the world's largest private port operators, operating 39 ports in 19 countries.

(Source: Xinhuanet/Photo: Hutchison Whampoa )