A company based in Hong Kong has agreed to sell most of its participation in two key ports on the Panama canal in a group led by the American investment company BlackRock.
The sale comes after weeks of complaint by President Donald Trump that the canal is under Chinese control and that the United States should take control of the main shipping route.
Thanks to a subsidiary, CK Hutchison Holding exploits ports in the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean’s inputs.
He said on Tuesday that he would sell his interests as part of an agreement worth $ 22.8 billion (17.8 billion pounds sterling).
CK Hutchison does not belong to the Chinese government, but its base in Hong Kong means that it operates under Chinese financial laws. He has exploited ports since 1997.
The agreement includes a total of 43 ports in 23 countries around the world, including the two terminals of the channel. It will take the approval of the Panamanian government.
The 51 mile (82 km) Panama canal crosses the Nation of Central America and is the main link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Up to 14,000 ships travel each year, including ships with container transporting cars, natural gas and other goods, and military ships.
It was built in the early 1900s. The United States maintained control of the canal area until 1977, when the treaties gradually sold the land to Panama.
After a joint control period, Panama took unique control in 1999.
Trump has advanced several arguments to regain control of the channel and the surrounding area. He argued that Chinese influence is a national security threat, that the American investment in the initial canal building justifies control of control, and that American ships are too billed to use the navigable track.
During a visit to Panama in February, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanded that the country will bring “immediate changes” to what it calls “China’s influence and control” on the canal.
Panama rejected the claims of the United States government and President Jose Raul Mulino said that the canal “is and will remain” in the hands of the Central America.
In a statement announcing the trade agreement, Frank Sixt, director of co-leader of CK Hutchison, said: “I would like to emphasize that the transaction is of a purely commercial nature and entirely unrelated to the recent political reports concerning the ports of Panama.”
Blackrock is one of the largest asset management companies in the world. The group buying ports also includes terminal Investment Limited, a Swiss company.
