Billionaire Li Ka-shing's group will not sign to sell the port in the Panama Canal to BlackRock?

Balboa Port in Panama City - Photo: REUTERS

According to Reuters news agency on March 28, a well-informed source revealed that Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing's CK Hutchison Group will not sign an agreement to sell the operations of two ports near the Panama Canal to a joint venture led by the US company BlackRock.

The deal was originally scheduled to be signed on April 2. The source, who asked not to be named, said the formal documents would not be signed “for obvious reasons.” However, he stressed that this did not mean the deal had been scrapped.

Singtao Daily and South China Morning Post were the first to report the news. CK Hutchison and BlackRock did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

Chinese authorities have reacted negatively to CK Hutchison's plan to sell port assets, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump - who has said he wants to regain control of the Panama Canal - welcomed the deal between the Hong Kong group and BlackRock.

A unit of CK Hutchison currently operates two of the five ports adjacent to the Panama Canal - a vital waterway that carries 3% of global trade.

Panama granted the Hong Kong consortium the right to operate the ports in 1998 and renewed it for another 25 years in 2021.

Beijing has been closely monitoring the CK Hutchison-BlackRock deal. If completed, BlackRock will control a total of 43 ports in 23 countries and CK Hutchison is expected to raise more than $19 billion in cash.

Billionaire Li Ka-shing's group had previously agreed to exclusive negotiations with BlackRock within 145 days.

The pro-Beijing Ta Kung Pao newspaper in an article on March 21 called for the cancellation of the agreement, calling it "perfect cooperation" with the US's strategy to contain China.

Analysts say Beijing's criticism of CK Hutchison's port business sale is a sign that China will increase scrutiny of major Chinese divestments involving American buyers.

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THANH HIEN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tap-doan-ti-phu-ly-gia-thanh-se-khong-ky-ban-cang-o-kenh-dao-panama-cho-blackrock-20250328205952978.htm