The Hong Kong-based company has agreed to sell most of its shares in two key ports on the Panama Canal to a group led by US investment company BlackRock.
The sale comes weeks after President Donald Trump complained that the canal was under China’s control and that the US should control major transportation routes.
Through its subsidiary, CK Hutchison Holding operates the Pacific entrance to Atlantic ports and canals.
On Tuesday, he said he would sell profits as part of a transaction worth $22.8 billion (£17.8 billion).
CK Hutchison, founded by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing, is not owned by the Chinese government. However, this means that Hong Kong bases operate under China’s financial law. It has been operating the port since 1997.
The agreement includes a total of 43 ports in 23 countries around the world, including two canal terminals. It requires approval from the Panama government.
The 51-mile (82km) Panama Canal cuts out the nation of Central America and is a major link between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Up to 14,000 ships travel each year, including cars, natural gas, other goods, and container ships that carry military ships.
It was built in the early 1900s. The United States maintained control of the canal zone until 1977, and the treaty gradually returned the land to Panama.
After a period of joint control, Panama took only control in 1999.
Trump had some discussions to regain control of the canal and its surrounding areas. He argued that China’s influence was a national security threat, and that US investment in the first building on the canal justify regaining control, and that US ships are too billed to use the waterways.
On his visit to Panama in February, Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for an “immediate change” in what he called China’s “influence and control” via the canal.
Panama rejected the US government’s claims, and President Jose Raul Murino said the canal was “in the hands of the Central American nation.”
In a statement announcing the business agreement, Frank Sixt, co-management director at CK Hutchison, said, “I would like to emphasize that the transaction is purely commercial in nature and has absolutely nothing to do with recent political news reports on the Port of Panama.”
BlackRock is one of the world’s largest asset management companies. The port buying group also includes Swiss company Terminal Investment Limited.
