Historic U.S. purchase in the Panama Canal
BlackRock acquires 90% Stake in two key ports along major maritime route
An investor group led by BlackRock, a U.S.-based asset management firm, has agreed to purchase two major ports in Panama previously owned by CK Hutchison, a Hong Kong-based company. According to a statement from Hutchison, the ports—located in Balboa and Cristóbal—sit at both ends of the Panama Canal, making them strategically critical.
Through this acquisition, valued at $22.8 billion, BlackRock will take control of 90% of the Balboa and Cristóbal ports by purchasing the same stake in Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) within Panama Ports Company.
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Additionally, BlackRock will gain an 80% stake in CK Hutchison’s subsidiaries, which own, operate, and develop a total of 43 ports with 199 berths across 23 countries, according to the company’s statement.
This high-profile deal transfers control of two key Panama Canal ports to U.S. hands, occurring amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing. The issue gained attention after former President Donald Trump expressed his concerns about China’s influence over the Panama Canal, despite the fact that Panama itself controls the canal.
“China is operating the Panama Canal, and we didn’t give it to them,” Trump once claimed, referring to a 1977 U.S.-Panama treaty that officially transferred control of the canal to Panama in 1999.
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According to The Wall Street Journal, BlackRock has already informed the Trump administration and U.S. Congress about the acquisition. However, Hutchison’s Co-Managing Director, Frank Sixt, clarified that the deal is unrelated to recent political debates surrounding Panama’s ports.
In the U.S., concerns remain that China could leverage its port operations near the canal for trade control or military purposes. The Panama Canal was originally built by the U.S. in 1914 but was handed over to Panama in 1999 under an agreement brokered by former President Jimmy Carter. The current Panamanian president has reaffirmed that Panama has no intention of returning control of the canal to the U.S.