Latest news with #RicaurteVasquez
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Panama Canal boss says MSC ports deal threatens neutrality, FT reports
(Reuters) -The sale of two ports near the Panama Canal to a global consortium led by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) threatens the canal's principle of neutrality, the canal's head Ricaurte Vasquez told the Financial Times. "There is a potential risk of capacity concentration if the deal comes the way it is structured as we understand right now,' Vasquez told the FT in a report published on Tuesday. "If there is a significant level of concentration on terminal operators belonging to an integrated or one single shipping company, it will be at the expense of Panama's competitiveness in the market and inconsistent with neutrality." MSC is one of the world's top container shipping groups. MSC and the Panama Canal Authority did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. CK Hutchison confirmed last month that MSC, run by the family of Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte, was the main investor in a group seeking to buy 43 ports, including the two ports in Panama, for $22.8 billion. The clarification follows weeks of scrutiny and criticism in China over CK Hutchison's plan to sell the ports to a consortium, which was previously led by U.S. investment firm BlackRock. BlackRock remains part of the group. The proposed sale has also drawn the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly expressed his desire to reduce Chinese influence around the Panama Canal and termed the deal a "reclaiming" of the waterway after it was first announced. In April, China's top market regulator said it was paying close attention to CK Hutchison's planned sale and that parties to the deal should not try to avoid an antitrust review. Vasquez added that the canal should use the ports deal as an opportunity to become a terminal operator itself by reactivating a project to build a terminal in the Port of Corozal at the Pacific end of the canal, according to the FT. Sign in to access your portfolio
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Panama Canal boss says MSC ports deal threatens neutrality, Infra News, ET Infra
Advt The sale of two ports near the Panama Canal to a global consortium led by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) threatens the canal's principle of neutrality, the canal's head Ricaurte Vasquez told the Financial Times."There is a potential risk of capacity concentration if the deal comes the way it is structured as we understand right now," Vasquez told the FT in a report published on Tuesday."If there is a significant level of concentration on terminal operators belonging to an integrated or one single shipping company, it will be at the expense of Panama's competitiveness in the market and inconsistent with neutrality."MSC is one of the world's top container shipping groups. MSC and the Panama Canal Authority did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. CK Hutchison confirmed last month that MSC, run by the family of Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte , was the main investor in a group seeking to buy 43 ports, including the two ports in Panama, for $22.8 clarification follows weeks of scrutiny and criticism in China over CK Hutchison's plan to sell the ports to a consortium, which was previously led by US investment firm BlackRock . BlackRock remains part of the proposed sale has also drawn the attention of US President Donald Trump , who has repeatedly expressed his desire to reduce Chinese influence around the Panama Canal and termed the deal a "reclaiming" of the waterway after it was first April, China's top market regulator said it was paying close attention to CK Hutchison's planned sale and that parties to the deal should not try to avoid an antitrust added that the canal should use the ports deal as an opportunity to become a terminal operator itself by reactivating a project to build a terminal in the Port of Corozal at the Pacific end of the canal, according to the FT.
Reuters
04-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Panama Canal to open bidding for LPG pipeline, authority says
April 4 (Reuters) - The Panama Canal has authorized the opening of a bidding process for a new pipeline that will transport liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) across the interoceanic waterway, its authority said on Friday. Since Panama's Supreme Court last year ruled the return of areas near the canal to its administration, the planning of projects to expand its trans-shipment and storage capacity has accelerated. The Reuters Power Up newsletter provides everything you need to know about the global energy industry. Sign up here. The pipeline is set to allow LPG vessels to discharge at one end of the canal, while other tankers can pick up the cargo at the other end, reducing traffic of vessels through the waterway. Japan's purchases of U.S. LPG will be helped by the project, the canal's head Ricaurte Vasquez said last month. The canal will seek the participation of companies technically and commercially qualified to execute the pipeline's development, and eventually to operate it, it said in a release. "This complementary activity will be incorporated into the sustainable development of the Panama Canal's West Bank route, which includes activities and alternatives to transporting products by sea," it added in the release. Following approval by the board of directors, bids will begin to be received in the coming months, the canal's authority told Reuters.
Al Jazeera
23-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Trump threatens to seize Panama Canal, chief defiant
The Panama Canal handles 5% of global trade, but now, it's facing political turbulence. President Donald Trump claims the US is being overcharged and alleges Chinese influence, threatening to take the canal back by force. In this Talk to Al Jazeera episode, Panama Canal's administrator, Ricaurte Vasquez, addresses the mounting tensions and defends Panama's sovereignty.
