Source: Financial Times [UK]
“The head of the operator of the Panama Canal has warned that a $23bn global ports deal that includes two facilities in the Central American country could put the waterway’s neutrality mandate at risk. The planned sale of 43 ports by Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison to a consortium led by subsidiaries of the Mediterranean Shipping Company and BlackRock has raised fears among MSC’s rivals that the Swiss-Italian group’s control of a swath of the world’s port infrastructure would give it an unfair advantage. Ricaurte Vásquez, Panama Canal Authority administrator, said the concentration of ownership could disadvantage some shipping companies and upset the canal’s principle of neutrality between nations.” (06/10/25)