It is said that there are three big secrets in the world: the formula for Coke, the wealth of the Queen and how much money Hutchison Whampoa, Hong Kong’s sprawling telecoms-to-retail conglomerate, makes in a year. It is good news, then, that Hutch’s plan to spin off 75 per cent of its Pearl River Delta port assets into a listed business trust in Singapore will make its accounts slightly less incomprehensible than before. But this is probably the least of the plan’s benefits.
据说世界上有三大秘密:可口可乐的配方、英国女王的财富以及和记黄埔(Hutchison Whampoa)一年内赚多少钱。和记黄埔是香港一家规模庞大、业务覆盖从电信到零售的企业巨头。那么,和记黄埔将旗下珠江三角洲港口资产的75%剥离至一家企业信托公司并让其在新加坡上市的计划,不失为一个好消息,因为这能让它的账目变得稍稍容易理解一些。但这一计划的益处远远超过这一点。