US Firm Is Buying Up Panama Canal Ports

"My administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we've already started doing it," Trump told Congress on Tuesday, alluding to a deal that would see an investment group led by US asset manager BlackRock buy up two ports at either end of the canal. In total, the consortium will buy 43 ports comprised of 199 berths in 23 countries from Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison for a cost of $19 billion, Reuters reports. CK Hutchison and Panama President José Raúl Mulino claimed the deal was not political, though it comes after Trump demanded "the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question" and complained about high shipping fees and Chinese influence.

Mulino said this was "a global transaction, between private companies, motivated by mutual interests," per the New York Times. Frank Sixt, a co-managing director at CK Hutchison, said it was "purely commercial in nature and wholly unrelated to recent political news reports concerning the Panama ports." However, the wealthy Hong Kong-based Li family that owns CK Hutchison believed it was under pressure to sell off its ports business, and particularly its Panama Canal ports of Cristobal and Balboa, and "specifically sought an American buyer," the Times reports. Executives at BlackRock then briefed Trump and other members of the administration on the deal, receiving their support.

The consortium also includes Terminal Investment and Global Infrastructure Partners. CK Hutchison is set to receive $19 billion for its 80% stake in the Hutchison Ports group. The stake was valued around $13 billion, meaning "the disposal would be significantly value enhancing," Citigroup analysts said, per Reuters. CK Hutchison's stock closed up 22% on Wednesday for its highest price since August 1, 2023. Trump claimed the deal would "further enhance our national security," per CBS News. "China is operating the Panama Canal," he claimed without evidence, per the Wall Street Journal. Last month, Sen. Ted Cruz suggested China could block US traffic. (More Panama Canal stories.)