Legal Wrangles Increase Around Panama Ports

The Port of Balboa, formerly managed by CK Hutchison Holdings, based in Hong Kong, located at the entrance to the Panama Canal in Panama City, on March 12, 2025. MARTIN BERNETTI / AFP

The signing of a deal to sell two ports in Panama by the Hong Kong ports company CK Hutchison to the U.S. investment group BlackRock could be delayed by legal proceedings. While China’s competition regulator has undertaken a review of the deal amid growing criticism, Panama’s government is requesting documents from CK Hutchison for its own audit of the deal.

The signing was supposed to happen on April 2, amid ongoing pressure from the Trump administration. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will reportedly visit Panama this week.

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by CGSP Staff

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