Panama says state could take over ports as it threatens to upend $20B deal with BlackRock, MSC

Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino said Thursday the Central American nation could potentially take over two key ports along the canal — a move that would scupper US asset manager BlackRock’s bid to gain control of the vital shipping lane.

Mulino asked the nation’s top court to scrap a contract with current operator CK Hutchison, which would then allow Panama to forge its own public-private partnerships for the two ports.

CK Hutchison has agreed to a $20 billion deal to hand over more than 40 global ports owned by Hong Kong business magnate Li Ka-Shing to BlackRock and Mediterranean Shipping Company.

CK Hutchison owns a 90% stake in Panama Ports Company, which has given it control over the Balboa and Cristobal ports located at both ends of the canal.

It renewed that agreement – planned to last 25 years – in 2021, but has since proposed a sale of the ports to appease President Trump’s demands for the US to “take back” the waterway, citing national security concerns.

While Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte’s family-run business MSC is slated to be the lead investor, the two Panama ports included in the deal will go to BlackRock, according to Bloomberg.

Panama’s Comptroller General’s office filed two lawsuits this week asking the Supreme Court to declare the sale unconstitutional and to nullify its contract with CK Hutchison, claiming the operator did not follow required steps – like getting it greenlit by the comptroller.

“I do not at the moment see the continuation of the Panama Ports contract, amended or not,” Mulino said at a press conference Thursday. 

“We will wait for the verdict,” Mulino added on the lawsuits.

MSC, CK Hutchison and the White House did not immediately respond to The Post’s requests for comment. BlackRock declined to comment.

It’s not the first time Panama’s comptroller has taken aim at its contract with CK Hutchison, arguing that there were irregularities from the previous government and that the deal has brought insufficient revenue to Panama.

The results of a recent audit by the comptroller’s office have not been released.

Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post’s signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here!

China has also pushed back hard against the BlackRock deal, fearful of losing critical access to the Panama Canal.

Beijing officials have threatened to squash the sale unless Cosco, China’s largest shipping firm, gets a stake equal to those of BlackRock and MSC, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Tensions have continued to heat up as China and the US negotiate on a trade deal.

Panama’s government said state partnerships could also solve the problem of a key copper mine previously operated by Canada’s First Quantum Minerals, whose contract was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2023.

“The idea is still a draft, covering the ports and the mine through partnerships with the state,” Mulino said.