The ports of Balboa and Cristóbal bookend the Panama canal. They don't control the canal, and they have been privately operated by CK Hutchison's Panama Ports Company for decades.
Those old contracts are now in the middle of a legal fight, a sovereignty debate, and a live test of how far national power competitions can reach into commercial infrastructure.
Panama's Supreme Court recently ruled that the legal terms underlying CK Hutchison's port concession were unconstitutional. The concessions have been canceled and Panama has selected two different operators to take over responsibility for the ports while new owners are determined.
If that wasn't complicated enough, Hong Kong-based CK Hutchinson intended to sell the ports to U.S.-headquartered BlackRock, a move that China was not too happy about.
The ports are now in the middle of a high stakes proxy war, with China and CK Hutchison on one side, and BlackRock and the Trump Administration on the other.
In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner covers the short and long term implications of uncertain Panama Canal port ownership:
Panama's disputed Supreme Court ruling
Why the original $23 billion BlackRock-MSC transaction now looks much more complicated than a straightforward ownership transfer.
How BlackRock, Maersk, MSC, and other bidders are repositioning around the two terminals.
What to watch for when a local concession dispute becomes a multi-jurisdiction legal and geopolitical risk event
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