BlackRock to buy Panama Canal ports after pressure from Trump

PANAMA CITY — BlackRock has agreed to buy two major ports on the Panama Canal from their Hong Kong-based owner as part of a $22.8bn deal, following pressure from Donald Trump over alleged Chinese influence at the waterway, as first reported in The Financial Times.

In apparent reference to the ports, the US president has frequently alleged that “China is running the Panama Canal”, adding last month that “we’re going to take it back, or something very powerful is going to happen”.

Under the agreement, the ports’ Hong Kong-based owner CK Hutchison would sell the business to a consortium including BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners and Terminal Investment Limited, according to a company statement today.

In a large-scale investment in the sector, the consortium would acquire a 90 per cent stake in the company that owns and operates the two ports in Panama.