Nine months after the announcement of a preliminary agreement for the sale of the container terminals of Hutchison Ports, the CK Hutchison Group company based in Hong Kong, to the consortium formed by MSC, via TIL, and BlackRock, the process is still blocked by the Chinese government. Beijing is demanding that Cosco join the acquiring consortium, initially with a 20–30% stake. Exclusivity with the consortium expired on 27 July, and since then CK Hutchison has been negotiating Cosco’s entry. In December, however, the situation became more complex due to Beijing’s demand that Cosco should exercise de facto control over the new acquiring entity, including veto powers. This request immediately met with refusal from both MSC and BlackRock, which do not accept veto rights, as well as from Washington. The issue is therefore likely to be revisited in 2026.
The deadlock is driven by the presence in Hutchison Ports’ portfolio of the two container terminals located at the Atlantic and Pacific ends of the Panama Canal, Balboa and Cristobal, held through a 90% stake in Panama Ports Company. From the outset of his presidency, Trump made it clear that he wanted to “evict” the Chinese group from the two facilities, something Beijing is evidently unwilling to accept. On the other hand, the current stalemate does not appear to be harming CK Hutchison, which continues to generate profits and cash flow from its port operations.
The issue also involves the Panamanian government, which has launched legal actions and reviews concerning a previous 30-year extension of the concessions granted to Panama Ports Company, with the risk that the current contractual structure could be invalidated. Trump’s interference is undoubtedly a cause for concern in Panama. At the same time, the Panama Canal Authority, which manages the canal, has raised concerns about an excessive concentration of capacity in MSC’s hands within the canal system, given that the Swiss group is already present at Rodman and involved in a new terminal project in Colón.
