Li Ka-Shing’s Hutchison Whampoa, the world’s largest container-terminal operator, will sell Hong Kong and south China port operations in a Singapore initial public offering to raise funds for expansion plans.

The company will retain a stake of about 25% in the trust that will hold deepwater container port operations in Hong Kong and Guangdong province, along with associated businesses and some Chinese river ports, it said in a statement today.

The Hutchison Port Holdings Trust sale may raise at least US$3 billion ($3.9 billion), making it the largest IPO in Singapore, the Wall Street Journal said, citing a person familiar with the situation. The offering will help pay for expansion in ports and other businesses while allowing the new trust to more easily raise funds, Hutchison said.

 

“It’s a very positive move to gradually unlock asset value,” said Johnson Leung, an analyst at Tufton Oceanic Far East in Hong Kong. “Hong Kong is a cash cow” for Hutchison, he said.

 

Jeremy Lau, a spokesman for Hutchison Whampoa, wasn’t available to comment when called by Bloomberg News because he was in a meeting. DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank AG and Goldman Sachs Group will manage the listing, the statement said.