Hong Kong company sells Panama Canal ports stake as Trump pressures it
CK Hutchison Holdings says sale of 80% stake to consortium has nothing to do with Trump’s claims of Chinese control of canal.
Hong Kong-based logistics giant CK Hutchison has announced plans to investors including BlackRock Inc. to acquire an 80% stake in Panama Ports Control for $14.21 billion in capital value.
Panama Ports sold its 90% stake, which owns and operates the Balboa and Cristobal ports, as U.S. President Donald Trump steps up pressure to end what he sees as Chinese influence and control over the Panama Canal.
CK Hutchison insists the deal has nothing to do with Trump’s promise to “take back” the canal. “I want to emphasize that this transaction is purely commercial and has nothing to do with the recent political news about Panama Ports,” said Frank Sixt, joint managing director.
A long ship loaded with rows of containers, followed by a tugboat, at the Kokoli locks of the Panama Canal.
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The company has operated the ports of Balboa and Cristobal at the canal’s entrances to the Pacific and Atlantic oceans for more than two decades. Other ports on the canal are operated by companies in the United States, Taiwan and Singapore.
The company said the sale does not include any shares in Hutchison Port Holdings Trust, which operates ports in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and southern China, or any other ports in mainland China.
The consortium, which includes BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners, Terminal Investments and CK Hutchison, has agreed to a 145-day exclusive negotiation period, the company said.
