The support of US President Donald Trump and members of his administration was a key factor in the purchase of Panama Canal ports by the US fund BlackRock. The latter acquired them from Hong Kong company CK Hutchison, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports, citing its sources.
CK Hutchison said on March 5 that it would sell a 90% stake in its subsidiary, which manages ports on both sides of the Panama Canal, to US investors. The investor group, which includes BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners and Terminal Investment, will also acquire 80% of other subsidiaries that own and operate 43 ports and 199 berths in 23 countries. The deal is worth $22.8 billion.
According to WSJ sources, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink held talks with Trump and officials from his administration - Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Besant and National Security Advisor Mike Walz - a few days before the deal was signed and received their approval. Rubio also raised the issue of China's influence over the canal during a visit to Panama in early February, and CK Hutchison executives feared that the Trump administration would "make life difficult" for the company if it did not agree to sell the port infrastructure to BlackRock, so it struck a deal with the fund.
Trump has previously said that Washington must regain control of the Panama Canal. He criticized the high fees charged for the Panama Canal, stressing that the transfer of control of the facility in 1999 was a "gesture of cooperation", not a concession to other countries. The American leader argued that the waterway was allegedly controlled by China. Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino noted that sovereignty over the canal and the country's independence were non-negotiable.