Trump hails ‘reclaiming’ of Panama Canal after BlackRock-led group’s deal to buy stake by Clare Jim and Scott Murdoch for Reuters.

March 5 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump has hailed a deal led by U.S. firm BlackRock (BLK.N), opens new tab to buy most of the $22.8 billion ports business of Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison (0001.HK), opens new tab, including assets it holds along the Panama Canal.

The deal will give the U.S. consortium control of key Panama Canal ports amid White House calls to remove them from what it says is Chinese ownership. But it also risks heightening tensions between the U.S. and Panama, which have tussled over Trump’s claims about the Canal.

“My administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we’ve already started doing it,” Trump told the U.S. Congress on Tuesday night.

“Just today, a large American company announced they are buying both ports around the Panama Canal and lots of other things having to do with the Panama Canal and a couple of other canals.”

Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said Trump was “once again lying” in a post on X on Wednesday morning.

“The Panama Canal is not in the process of being reclaimed … the Canal is Panamanian and will continue to be Panamanian!”

The deal with the BlackRock-led consortium includes 90% of Panama Ports Company, which has operated the Balboa and Cristobal ports at each end of the canal for over two decades, said CK Hutchison.

“We are glad to see U.S. investors acquire a controlling stake in Panama Ports Company, which owns and operates the ports of Balboa and Cristobal at either end of the Panama Canal,” a U.S. State Department official said in a statement to Reuters.

CK Hutchison is a publicly listed Hong Kong company not financially tied to the Chinese government and other ports in Panama are operated by companies from the U.S., Taiwan and Singapore.

Trump has previously complained about the presence of Chinese and Hong Kong-based companies in Panama, and American officials and politicians have said CK Hutchison’s control of the ports represents a security risk for the operation.

In total, the consortium, which includes Terminal Investment and Global Infrastructure Partners, will control 43 ports comprising 199 berths in 23 countries, the conglomerate said.

The high purchase price sent CK Hutchison’s stock up more than 20% on Wednesday, outpacing a 2.8% rise in Hong Kong’s broader Hang Seng Index (.HSI), opens new tab. Its price is now the highest since August 1, 2023.

The sale involves CK Hutchison’s 80% stake in Hutchison Ports with an equity value of $14.21 billion. However, the conglomerate will receive more than $19 billion following repayment of some shareholder loans.

To read the full article, please visit: https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/ck-hutchison-shares-jump-22-after-panama-canal-stake-sale-blackrock-2025-03-05/