News
Thursday 27th March 2025.
March 26, 2025
Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison is moving ahead with preparations to close the previously announced sale of the two ports it controls near the Panama Canal , despite Beijing’s opposition to the deal, Bloomberg reports .
According to anonymous sources cited by the outlet, the teams responsible for formalizing the sale are continuing to work on tax, accounting, and due diligence aspects, with a view to signing the final agreement next Wednesday, April 2 , as planned.
Since the agreement establishes a 145-day exclusive negotiation period between CK Hutchison and the buying consortium, led by US asset manager BlackRock , it is unlikely that other potential interested firms, such as Chinese state-owned groups, will join the bidding.
The sale would result in net proceeds of around $19 billion for the Hong Kong conglomerate, and would include not only the ports of Balboa and Cristobal , but also 41 others controlled by the group in more than twenty countries.
The deal was hailed by analysts as a lucrative move by veteran businessman Li Ka-shing—the richest man in the former British colony and the eighth richest in Asia—under pressure from new US President Donald Trump.
However, since Trump framed the operation as a US victory over alleged Chinese interference in the Canal, Beijing has expressed its displeasure with what has also been seen as an attempt by CK Hutchison to appease the US president.
Tense relationship with Beijing
Chinese authorities have not intervened directly, but have issued statements through pro-Beijing newspapers in Hong Kong, warning that companies that collaborate with the United States “will have no future no matter how much business and money they raise,” and demanding the sale be canceled for “harming national security.”
However, Beijing would find it difficult to prevent such a deal, given that Hong Kong’s legal system is very different from mainland China’s, although it remains to be seen whether it would invoke the Security Law it imposed on the former British colony to block it .
Meanwhile, CK Hutchison’s shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which plunged more than 6% following the aforementioned anti-sale report, rose nearly 1.9% during morning trading following the Bloomberg report .
The group is owned by Li, who, at 96, remains the 38th richest person in the world with an estimated fortune of around $38.3 billion.
For years, Li was considered a figure close to Beijing thanks to his good relationship with Chinese leaders such as Deng Xiaoping (1978-1989) and Jiang Zemin (1989-2002), but the international press points out that, in recent years, especially following the increase in Chinese control over Hong Kong following the 2019 protests, the relationship with the central government has soured somewhat.
The lawsuit filed against the two notes issued by the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) in 2021, which authorized the automatic extension of the concession contract of Panama Ports Company, SA (PPC) , has been cleared (for now) .
On Tuesday, March 25, the Third Chamber of Administrative and Labor Litigation rejected “outright as inadmissible” a request for “correction” filed by the firm Morgan & Morgan , lawyers for the port company, against the admission of a nullity claim filed by attorney Roberto Ruiz Díaz against the AMP authorizations.
The Third Chamber warned that the PPC is using the request for correction to obtain “a new examination” of the admissibility of Ruiz’s claim.
In this regard, he cites Article 999 of the Judicial Code , which establishes that judgments cannot be revoked or amended by the same judge who issued them. Furthermore, clarifications or corrections are only relevant with regard to damages, costs, or “obscure or double-meaning” phrases, which does not apply in the case of the PPC request.
” It can be observed that the plaintiff’s request aims to establish his disagreement with the operative part of the order, seeking to correct alleged errors of assessment that served as the basis for the ruling, thus seeking to have the final decision modified, a situation that does not comply with the assumptions established by law for the clarification or correction of the sentence ,” state Judges Cecilio Cedalise (rapporteur) and María Cristina Chen Stanziola in the ruling adopted on March 25.
Five weeks earlier, the same Court had admitted Ruiz Díaz’s claim against a June 28, 2021, note from the board of directors and a June 21, 2021, certification from the General Administration, both of the AMP, through the Order of February 19, 2025, challenged by Morgan & Morgan.
With both documents, PPC obtained an automatic 25-year extension to the contract it signed in 1997 for the operation of the container ports of Balboa and Cristóbal . The Comptroller’s Office, under the leadership of Anel Flores since January 1, is now in the process of auditing both ports.
The two terminals will now be acquired by the investment fund BlackRock , amid tensions with the administration of US President Donald Trump , who has repeatedly accused Panama of violating the neutrality treaty and allowing China to control the Panama Canal .
PPC is owned by CK Hutchison , a consortium based in Hong Kong , a detail that has been used by the United States to support the claims of Trump and his administration.
Jorge Navarrete, detained in Operation Jungle as a suspected member of the Gulf Clan , was notified on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, of an extradition request filed by United States (US) authorities.
Navarrete, who remains in a maximum-security cell in Panama, was linked by the Drug Prosecutor’s Office to a criminal network that allegedly smuggled four tons of drugs through the Costa Abajo area of Colón. He is also accused of maintaining several support groups in Panama City and Colón.
According to the investigation, Navarrete coordinated the shipment of drugs from Colombia in boats that arrived in the community of Piña, Colón. From there, the illicit substances were transported to Panama City in vehicles with double bottoms.
The investigation also reveals that the network consisted of at least 18 people, who were assigned tasks such as creating corporations and front companies, as well as setting up drug storage sites.
Last Monday, a magistrate judge charged the members of this organization with money laundering and conspiracy to smuggle drugs. Of those implicated, 11 were remanded in preventive detention, while the rest must report periodically to the authorities.
The Gulf Clan is considered one of the main threats to national security. Combating its operations is a priority for law enforcement agencies, especially the National Border Service (Senafront).
According to data from Senafront, this criminal group maintains control over drug trafficking, migrant smuggling, and illegal mining in Darién.
A 2023 report prepared by the International Crisis Group in conjunction with the Drug Prosecutor’s Office revealed that up to 60% of the drugs seized in Panama are linked to the Gulf Clan.
Furthermore, reports indicate that this network recruits young gang members in Panama to transport drugs, using both speedboats and artisanal fishing vessels that simulate fishing near the coast.
Environment Minister Juan Carlos Navarro expressed his opposition to open-pit mining on Wednesday, March 26, and asserted that his stance has not changed since 2011, when he appeared before the National Assembly to warn about the risks of mining in Panama.
“I was here in 2011, warning that the mistake being made at this mine was colossal and that we would pay dearly for it. My position hasn’t changed. Those of us who opposed it were right,” Navarro stated in response to a question from Representative Luis Eduardo Camacho during an appearance before the National Assembly’s Population, Environment, and Development Committee.
While the government evaluates options for the mine’s future, the environment minister insisted that his stance against open-pit mining remains unchanged.
In his speech, he also confirmed that neither the Cobre Panamá mine nor the thermoelectric plant are currently operating. He also explained that the start of talks with First Quantum Minerals to define the mine’s future is conditional on the suspension of the arbitration proceedings it is pursuing against Panama in international courts.
“The mine is closed, the power plant is shut down . There is no mining. I want to assure you that the ministry is carrying out the environmental inspections and inspections required by law,” Navarro stated in response to questions from Representative Yamireliz Chong of the Vamos coalition.
However, at another point in the session, the minister stated that there is no coal for the thermoelectric plant to operate , despite having indicated that it is not in operation.
On March 14, President José Raúl Mulino announced that he would authorize the importation of coal from Medellín, Colombia, to reactivate the plant. However, according to Navarro’s statements in the Assembly, this has not yet happened.
Regarding the start of talks with First Quantum , the head of the environment ministry reiterated that President Mulino’s instructions are to first eliminate and suspend the company’s arbitration proceedings against the state.
On March 14, Cobre Panamá reported that it had instructed its lawyers to work on suspending the seven ongoing arbitrations . To date, it has not provided details on the progress of the process.
Regarding the visits to the mine promoted by Cobre Panamá, Navarro supported the statement from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MICI), which states that the company “has not been authorized” to conduct any type of tour of the site.
Since last Saturday, March 22, changes to the collection of fines for insufficient balance on the North and South corridors of the National Highway Company (ENA) began to apply.
Users who travel along the corridors with insufficient balance will face a $10 fine upon passing through the toll booths. Pressure will also be exerted to ensure that drivers with traffic tickets are cleared before paying.
Executive Decree No. 11 , approved on February 20, 2025 by the Ministry of Government, also introduces other changes on several occasions.
- Payment of fines: Drivers who are fined must be in good standing with ENA or the corresponding concessionaire before being able to pay the fine to the Land Transit and Transportation Authority (ATTT).
- Elimination of online payment: The online payment option for violations related to highway corridors and highways has been eliminated. This will require violators to settle their debt directly with ENA or the concessionaire before regularizing their situation with the ATTT.
With the implementation of these new penalties, the responsibility for paying certain violations will fall on the vehicle owner, even if they were not the driver at the time of the violation.
According to the decree, these measures seek to ensure that those responsible are responsible for outstanding debts and improve compliance with traffic regulations.
In response to these new regulations, ENA has extended its business hours at the Panapass installation centers in Atlapa and Albrook, from Monday to Saturday, from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
In addition, new temporary care centers will be set up in:
- Tinajitas booth offices – North Corridor
- Centenario Via Offices – North Corridor entrance
- Panamericana booth offices – East Corridor exit
- ATTT and Sertracen offices
Users can catch up by topping up their balance through the following channels:
- Online banking and key ATMs from affiliated banks
- Payment Point Machines (cash only)
- Supermarket and affiliated store checkouts (Grupo Rey, Farmacias Metro, El Machetazo, and Western Union)
- Panapass App (recharges from $0.15 to $500.00)
- Website enarecargas.com