AsianFin -- CK Hutchison on Thursday confirmed that the family-owned MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, controlled by Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte, is the principal investor in the consortium aiming to acquire 43 ports from the Hong Kong-based conglomerate.

The confirmation came from Co-Managing Director Dominic Lai during the company’s annual general meeting, following mounting scrutiny and criticism in China over the proposed sale of the bulk of Hutchison’s $22.8 billion global ports portfolio to a group led by U.S. investment giant BlackRock.