Hong Kong Firm Offloads Panama Ports After Trump Pressure

The Danish cargo ship Lars Maersk sails on Gatun Lake near the Agua Clara Locks of the Panama Canal in Colon City, Panama, on December 28, 2024. ARNULFO FRANCO / AFP

Under fierce pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, the Hong Kong firm Hutchison said it had agreed to sell its lucrative Panama Canal ports to a U.S.-led consortium Tuesday.

CK Hutchison Holdings said it would offload a 90 percent stake in Panama Ports Company, and sell a slew of other non-Chinese ports to a group led by giant asset manager BlackRock. The purchase price of the transaction is $14.2 billion and it will net sellers more than $19 billion in cash, CK said in a news release.

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