Cargo traffic surge buoys Li Ka-Shing's British ports empire

Felixstowe: More cargo passed through the terminal in 2017

Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

Michael Bow24 September 2018

The UK ports empire owned by Asian billionaire Li Ka-Shing bolstered turnover last year after a rise in cargo traffic, accounts show.

Hutchison Ports Europe, which owns the UK’s biggest port Felixstowe as well as London Thamesport and Harwich International, saw sales rise 4.5% to £348 million last year.

Traffic passing through Felixstowe increased to 29 million tonnes in 2017, up 28.2 million in the prior year, says the Department for Transport.

Around 95% of all imports and exports into the UK are transported by sea. Hutchison Ports, owned by Li’s Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison, charges shipping lines to use one of the three ports.

Pre-tax profits rose marginally to £65.5 million and a £8 million dividend was paid to its British Virgin Island-based holding company Huming, which is owned ultimately by CK Hutchison.

Li, 90, is one of the UK’s biggest infrastructure owners, and has stakes in train rolling stock operators, water companies and power stations.