BlackRock to buy Hong Kong firm’s Panama Canal port stake amid Trump pressure

NEW YORK - An investor group backed by BlackRock agreed to buy a majority stake in the Hong Kong subsidiary that runs ports along either side of the Panama Canal, giving a US firm control of key docks amid pressure from the White House to take them from China.

The US$22.8 billion (S$30.5 billion) sale by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison to US and Swiss investors also includes dozens of ports in other countries, the companies announced on March 4.

The move appears to be a win for US President Donald Trump’s aggressive diplomacy, just hours before he is due to tout the successes of the first six tumultuous weeks of his second term in an address to the US Congress.

He vowed to wrest control of the strategic canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans during his January 20 inauguration speech, falsely claiming China is operating it. The transaction appears to hand command of the vital docks on both entrances of the canal to US interests.

Mr Trump

refused to rule out military action

to assert US control over the canal, which is operated by the Panama Canal Authority, an autonomous agency overseen by the Panamanian government, and surrounded by several ports.

The US President has complained about the presence of Chinese and Hong Kong-based companies in Panama, and American officials and politicians have said CK Hutchison’s control of the ports represents a security risk for the operation.

Every year, between 13,000 and 14,000 ships use the canal, which connects 1,920 ports across 170 countries. But its position is strategic for Washington, as over three-quarters of all vessels passing through the canal originate in or are bound for the US.

The sale of licences will result in the consortium gaining a 90 per cent stake in Panama Ports Company, which has been the operator of the Balboa and Cristobal ports in the Central American country for more than two decades, CK Hutchison said in a statement.

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm based in New York, has briefed the White House and congressional leadership on the deal, a person familiar with the transaction said.

This would be BlackRock’s largest infrastructure investment to date, that person said.

The US State Department, White House, National Security Council and Panama’s government did not respond to requests for comment.

Dr Ryan Berg, director of the Americas programme at Washington’s Centre for Strategic and International Studies, called the sale a win for the US and said he hoped it put the debate over canal security to rest.

“In strategic competition with China in the Americas, this is a huge victory,” he said.

CK Hutchison is a publicly listed company not financially tied to the Chinese government, though Hong Kong firms are subject to state oversight. Other ports in Panama are operated by companies from the US, Taiwan and Singapore.

Panama’s attorney-general determined earlier this month that CK Hutchison’s port contract was “unconstitutional”. The Supreme Court in Panama was set to make the final ruling on its legal status.

Deal follows Rubio visit

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made his

first overseas trip

as top US diplomat to Latin America in February, including to Panama, where he pressured the country over China’s presence along the canal. After his departure, Mr Rubio

hailed Panama’s decision to exit China’s Belt and Road infrastructure plan

. He has expressed optimism in media interviews that CK Hutchison would not own the ports in the future.

The sale of Panama ports licences held by the unit of billionaire Li Ka-shing’s conglomerate to a consortium that includes BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners and Terminal Investment will give it control of an 80 per cent interest in Hutchison Ports for an equity value of US$14.21 billion.

It will get control of 43 ports comprising 199 berths in 23 countries while delivering cash proceeds in excess of US$19 billion for the Hong Kong-based consortium.

The sale does not involve any interest in Hutchison Port Holdings Trust, which operates ports in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, as well as South China, or any other ports in Mainland China, CK Hutchison said.

The consortium has agreed that negotiations will be on an exclusive basis for 145 days, the company said.

BlackRock completed the acquisition of Global Infrastructure Partners for approximately US$12.5 billion in cash and stock in October 2024. At the time, chair and chief executive Larry Fink described infrastructure as “a generational investment opportunity”. REUTERS