BlackRock Buys Two Panama Canal Ports
On March 4, a consortium helmed by BlackRock announced it would purchase two ports on the Panama Canal from a Hong Kong based investor group. The two ports, Cristobal and Balboa, are located on either side of the Canal, providing access to both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
The deal includes 41 additional ports across the world and is worth $22.8 billion according to CNN.
President Trump has had his eye on the Panama Canal since he took office. He criticized a treaty that transferred control to Panama in 1999 and claimed he would bring it back under U.S. control. He also has made false claims that the canal is operated by China. In reality, the independently operated Panama Canal Authority oversees its operations.
Still, the sale, which transfers ownership of two major ports from a Hong Kong conglomerate to an American one, aligns with the Trump administration's goals.
Frank Sixt, the co-managing Director of CK Hutchison, said in a statement the sale was “purely commercial in nature and wholly unrelated to recent political news reports concerning the Panama Ports.”
In 2024, over 9.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) passed through Panama Canal ports. Balboa and Cristobal ports represented about 28% and 12% of that total respectively.