Latest news with #PanamaPorts
Malaysian Reserve
31-07-2025
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
Panama official seeks court review of Hutchison Ports contract
PANAMA'S comptroller general asked the Supreme Court to review the government's contract extension with a unit of CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd., potentially throwing a new wrench in the company's deal to sell the business. Anel Flores, the Panamanian official, said he asked the court to find the contract extension unconstitutional and declare it null and void. 'The contract was bad, one-sided and abusive, against the interests of the country,' he said. Panama is the true owner of the ports, he said. Panama Ports Co., part of Hong Kong-based Hutchison's far-flung operations, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Flores had said in April that an audit found that Panama Ports failed to get proper approvals for its 2021 contract extension. He said tax breaks under the contract cost the country $1.3 billion. A consortium including BlackRock Inc. agreed to a deal earlier this year to acquire 43 ports from Hutchison, with the New York-based company taking control of Panama Ports. While that deal was smiled upon by US President Donald Trump, who has sought to reduce foreign interests in the waterway, it met opposition in Beijing, which considers BlackRock a proxy for American influence. The transaction has remained pending while the companies seek to resolve the issues. –BLOOMBERG
Business Times
31-07-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Panama official seeks court review of CK Hutchison port contract
[NEW YORK] Panama's comptroller general asked its Supreme Court to review the government's contract extension with CK Hutchison's local ports unit, potentially throwing a new wrench into the conglomerate's deal to sell its global terminals business. Panamanian official Anel Flores said that he asked the court to find unconstitutional a 2021 extension for Panama Ports' contract to operate two ports along the Panama Canal and declare it null and void. 'The contract was bad, one-sided and abusive, against the interests of the country,' he told a briefing in Panama City. Panama Ports did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Panama terminals are at the centre of the geopolitically delicate deal for the 43 ports owned by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing's CK Hutchison. A buyer consortium backed by BlackRock is seeking to acquire the business, with the American asset manager taking control of Panama Ports. While the deal has been smiled upon by US President Donald Trump, who has sought to reduce foreign interests in the strategically important waterway, it's met with opposition in Beijing, which considers BlackRock a proxy for American influence. China has also separately cautioned that antitrust reviews shouldn't be bypassed, so as to prevent an agreement from being rushed into. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up 'What is Panama's business is that the ports are ours, they belong to the republic of Panama,' Flores said. 'I don't think it's right that, at other latitudes, other people are negotiating the future using property that belongs to Panama.' The transaction has remained pending while the parties involved seek to resolve the issues. CK Hutchison said this week that it may invite an unnamed 'major strategic investor' from China to join the consortium, a move that's likely to help remove obstacles that have been holding up the completion of a deal. The Chinese investor would join as a significant member of the group, CK Hutchison said, hours after the expiry of a 145-day exclusive talks window with the consortium. State-owned China Cosco Shipping has been negotiating a powerful role for itself as a condition to join the group, Bloomberg News reported. CK Hutchison this week reiterated that it 'will not proceed with any transaction that does not have the approval of all relevant authorities'. Flores said in April that an audit by his office found that Panama Ports had failed to get proper approvals for its contract extension. Tax breaks under the contract have also cost the Central American nation US$1.3 billion, as a series of tax-exempt shell companies operating on Panama Ports's grounds helped the firm lower the share of profits it paid the government, he told a press conference at the time. BLOOMBER
South China Morning Post
12-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's CK Hutchison Holdings pledges Panama port deal won't violate laws
Hong Kong's CK Hutchison Holdings has said it would be impossible for the controversial Panama ports sale to proceed under any illegal or non-compliant circumstances after mainland China's market regulator asked the parties involved not to circumvent an ongoing antitrust probe into the deal last month. Advertisement Monday's statement, the first directly issued by Li Ka-shing's conglomerate addressing the controversy since Beijing raised concerns, said it had originally planned to discuss the details of the port transaction at its annual general meeting on May 22, but decided to issue a press release given recent inquiries from shareholders and the media 'CK Hutchison Holdings Limited hereby states that this transaction will absolutely not proceed under any illegal or non-compliant circumstances,' it said. The statement added the relevant terms were outlined in the initial announcement on March 4, which said the completion of the transaction depended on fulfilling a series of conditions, including obtaining legal and regulatory approval, ensuring no legal violations or prohibitions, securing necessary shareholder approval, and meeting other appropriate and customary conditions specified in the final documents. CK Hutchison dropped a bombshell when it announced the sale of its 43 overseas ports to a BlackRock-led consortium. The conglomerate is set to receive US$19 billion in cash under the US$23 billion deal. The two ports the conglomerate operates at the Panama Canal have drawn intense scrutiny from both Beijing and Washington, with the strategic waterway becoming a geopolitical flashpoint in the superpower rivalry.
Japan Times
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
U.S. will not let China disrupt Panama Canal: Pentagon chief
The United States will not allow China to jeopardize the operations of the Panama Canal, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned during a visit to the Central American nation on Tuesday. Hegseth is the second senior U.S. official to visit Panama since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January vowing to "take back" the U.S.-built canal to counter what he sees as China's disproportionate influence over the waterway. "Today, the Panama Canal faces ongoing threats," Hegseth said in a speech at a police station located at the entry to the shipping route. "The United States of America will not allow communist China or any other country to threaten the canal's operation or integrity," he added. The United States built the more than century-old canal and handed it over to Panama in 1999. A Hong Kong company called Panama Ports operates two ports at either end of the canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific, through which 5% of all global shipping passes. The Trump administration has put immense pressure on Panama to reduce Chinese influence on the canal, which Washington sees as a threat to U.S. national security. "I want to be very clear. China did not build this canal. China does not operate this canal. And China will not weaponize this canal," Hegseth said, calling it a "wonder of the world." Speaking alongside Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino, Hegseth said the U.S. and Panama together would "take back the Panama Canal from China's influence" and keep it open to all nations, using the "deterrent power of the strongest, most effective and most lethal fighting force in the world." He claimed that China's control of critical infrastructure in the canal area gave Beijing the power to conduct spying activities across Panama, making the country and the United States "less secure, less prosperous and less sovereign." The Chinese Embassy in Panama issued a statement refuting Hegseth's claim that Beijing interferes in the operations of the canal. "China has never taken part in the management or operation of the Panama Canal, nor has it interfered in issues" concerning the waterway, the statement said, calling on Washington to halt "blackmail" and "plundering" of Panama and other countries of the region. It labeled Hegseth's comments "not at all responsible or founded" and said the United States "has orchestrated a sensationalist campaign based on the 'China threat theory' so as to undermine cooperation between China and Panama. "China has always respected Panama's sovereignty with regard to the canal," the embassy said. The Panama Ports concession to operate the Port of Balboa on the Pacific side of the canal and Port of Cristobal on the Atlantic side was first granted in 1997 and renewed for another 25 years in 2021. But faced with Trump's repeated threats to seize the canal, Panama has put pressure on CK Hutchison, the parent company of Panama Ports, to pull out of the country. In January, it began an audit of Panama Ports to determine if it was honoring its concession contract. On the eve of Hegseth's visit, Panama's comptroller announced that the audit had revealed "many breaches" of the contract and said Panama did not receive $1.2 billion it was owed from the operator. In March, CK Hutchison announced an agreement to sell 43 ports in 23 countries — including its two on canal — to a group led by giant U.S. asset manager BlackRock for $19 billion in cash. A furious Beijing has since announced an antitrust review of the deal, which likely prevented the parties from signing an agreement on April 2 as had been planned. Hegseth's visit to Panama comes two months after that of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Shortly after that visit, Panama announced it was pulling out of Chinese President Xi Jinping's landmark global infrastructure program, the Belt and Road Initiative.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US will not let China disrupt Panama Canal: Pentagon chief
The United States will not allow China to jeopardize the operations of the Panama Canal, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned during a visit to the Central American nation on Tuesday. Hegseth is the second senior US official to visit Panama since President Donald Trump took office in January vowing to "take back" the US-built canal to counter what he sees as China's disproportionate influence over the waterway. "Today, the Panama Canal faces ongoing threats," Hegseth said in a speech at a police station located at the entry to the shipping route. "The United States of America will not allow communist China or any other country to threaten the canal's operation or integrity," he added. The United States built the more than century-old canal and handed it over to Panama in 1999. A Hong Kong company called Panama Ports operates two ports at either end of the canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific, through which five percent of all global shipping passes. - 'Wonder of the world' - The Trump administration has put immense pressure on Panama to reduce Chinese influence on the canal, which Washington sees as a threat to US national security. "I want to be very clear. China did not build this canal. China does not operate this canal. And China will not weaponize this canal," Hegseth said, calling it a "wonder of the world." Speaking alongside Panama's President Jose Raul Molino, Hegseth said the US and Panama together would "take back the Panama Canal from China's influence" and keep it open to all nations, using the "deterrent power of the strongest, most effective and most lethal fighting force in the world." He claimed that China's control of critical infrastructure in the canal area gave Beijing the power to conduct spying activities across Panama, making Panama and the United States "less secure, less prosperous and less sovereign." The Panama Ports concession to operate Balboa port on the Pacific side of the canal and Cristobal port on the Atlantic side was first granted in 1997 and renewed for another 25 years in 2021. But faced with Trump's repeated threats to seize the canal, Panama has put pressure on CK Hutchison, the parent company of Panama Ports, to pull out of the country. In January, it began an audit of Panama Ports to determine if it was honoring its concession contract. On the eve of Hegseth's visit Panama's comptroller announced that the audit had revealed "many breaches" of the contract and said Panama did not receive $1.2 billion it was owed from the operator. In March, CK Hutchison announced an agreement to sell 43 ports in 23 countries -- including its two on canal -- to a group led by giant US asset manager BlackRock for $19 billion in cash. A furious Beijing has since announced an antitrust review of the deal, which likely prevented the parties from signing an agreement on April 2 as had been planned. Hegseth's visit to Panama comes two months after that of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Shortly after that visit Panama announced it was pulling out of Chinese President Xi Jinping's landmark global infrastructure program, the Belt and Road Initiative. Hegseth praised the move, saying it showed Panama understanding of "the threat it poses," alluding to China. Around 200 people staged a protest in Panama City over Hegseth's visit. "Trump, get your hands of Panama," read a banner waved by one of the demonstrators, who burned a US flag. mis-jjr/cb/dw
