CK Hutchison Holdings, the company associated with billionaire Li Ka-shing, says there are no plans to sell or merge its Hong Kong supermarket business ParknShop with rival Wellcome. Dominic Lai, CK Hutchison’s group co-managing director, makes the statement at the company’s annual general meeting on Thursday, dismissing market speculation that ParknShop could be involved in a merger with one of its largest competitors.
The denials come amid earlier reporting suggesting potential industry talks involving other parties. One outlet notes that the background to the speculation includes a Financial Times report last month describing negotiations involving Jardine Matheson, which has business interests in the retail sector. However, CK Hutchison’s executive directly addresses the ParknShop-to-Wellcome merger question, saying there is “really no such plan” to sell ParknShop.
Taken together, the reports indicate that while merger speculation circulates in Hong Kong’s supermarket market, CK Hutchison publicly rules out a ParknShop deal with Wellcome and provides no indication of an imminent transaction. The statements do not comment on other potential discussions not involving Wellcome.
