4 minutes agoPresident Tump's pressure: Hong Kong billionaire agrees to sell Panama Canal ports to American firm
Periskopi(a year ago)
(a year ago)A Hong Kong-based company has agreed to sell its majority stake in two key ports at the Panama Canal, a group led by the US investment firm “BlackRock”. This sale comes after numerous complaints by President Donald Trump, “that the channel is under Chinese control and that the US [...]
This sale comes after numerous complaints by President Donald Trump, “that the channel is under Chinese control and that the US should take control of the main transport route”.
CK Hutchison Holding operates at the canal entrances into the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. The same, they claimed they would make a deal worth $22.8 billion.
CK Hutchison, founded by the Hong Kong billionaire Lee Ka-shing, is not owned by the Chinese government. But its base in Hong Kong means it operates according to Chinese financial laws. It has operated ports since 1997.
The deal includes a total of 43 ports in 23 countries around the world, including two channel terminals. However, it will require approval by the Panaman government initially.
Panama Canal 51 miles (82 km) through the central nation of America is the main link between the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean.
As many as 14,000 ships travel through it each year, including containers carrying cars, natural gas and other goods, as well as military ships.
It was built in the early 1900s. The US maintained control over the canal area until 1977, when treaties gradually gave land to Panama.
After a period of joint control, Panama took over only in 1999.
Trump has issued a few statements of retake control of the channel and the surrounding area. He says the Chinese influence is a threat to national security, that US investment in the initial construction of the channel justifys retaking control, and that American ships are heavily taxed for the use of a waterway.
On a visit to Panama in February, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanded that the country make immediate “changes to what he calls “impact and control” China's over the channel.
Is China a Panama Canal, as Trump says?
Panama has dismissed US government claims and President Jose Raul Mulino has said the channel “is and will remain” in the hands of the Central American country.
In a statement announcing the business agreement, Frank Sixt, co-director of CK Hutchison, said: “wants to stress that the transaction is simply trade in nature and completely out of touch with recent political news reports about Panama ports. ”
BlackRock is one of the largest asset management companies in the world. Group buying ports also includes Terminal Investment Limited, A Swiss company.
