Central America

BlackRock may face another obstacle in its bid to gain control of two ports near the Panama Canal, once Central America releases an audit regarding a 25-year contract granted to Hong Kong's CK Hutchison. Sources told us last week that the final signature on the deal, which is part of a larger $22.8 billion transaction involving over 40 ports across 23 countries and a BlackRock group, will be delayed due to growing criticism in China. BlackRock and CK Hutchison announced the deal last month, stating that they expected definitive documentation to be signed no later than April 2. Panama's government...

Analysts say that the Chinese media's scathing criticism of CK Hutchison for its planned sale of Panama ports to a U.S.-based group highlights Beijing's growing grip on Hong Kong, and its vulnerability to global tensions. According to the announcement of the sale on March 4, the definitive documentation for port operations near Panama Canal should have been signed by April 2. However, sources claim that the signing will be delayed as it is not a strict deadline. CK Hutchison didn't immediately respond to a comment request. Wednesday was supposed to be the beginning of a larger deal in which a...

Shares of CK Hutchison dropped as much as 4,7% on Monday, after China's state media criticized the Hong Kong conglomerate for its Panama port deal. Sources also said that the deal would be delayed. It was originally expected to be signed by April 2. Chinese state media took down a post that they made on social media Saturday, which attacked CK Hutchison for selling its ports near Panama Canal to a BlackRock-led group. Sources said that the deal was not cancelled, despite the fact that CK Hutchison delayed a part of its sale. CK Hutchison's shares recovered some ground lost...

In a post that was removed minutes later, the Chinese state media attacked Hong Kong's conglomerate CK Hutchison for its plan to sell ports near the Panama Canal in a BlackRock group. The account of state broadcaster CCTV on social media said that China had important national interests in this transaction, and that the sale was "equivalent to giving a knife to a rival." The post Yuyuantantian made on the social media platform Weibo said that CK Hutchison, as a Hong Kong-based company, should be cautious about its dealings, which could damage China's interests. The post disappeared minutes after it...

The South China Morning Post reported that the Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison, led by tycoon Li Ka shing, would not sign a contract next week for the sale of its two strategic Panama Canal ports to a BlackRock group. According to the announcement of sale made on March 4, the deal was expected to sign on April 2. The report cited a source who was close to CK. Hutchison and said that it is understood that the situation doesn't mean the deal has ended. The company didn't immediately respond to our request for comment. CK Hutchison agreed earlier this...

Bloomberg News reported that China had instructed state-owned companies to stop new deals with businesses connected to Hong Kong billionaire Li Kashing and his family following his plan to sell Panama's two ports to a BlackRock led consortium. CK Hutchison is the U.S.-based telecom-to-retail company owned by Li. The highly-politicised deal between the two companies has caught China in its crosshairs. This month, the Hong Kong-based firm agreed to sell the majority of its global port business, which includes assets located near the strategically significant Panama Canal. The deal would net the company more than $19 Billion in cash. Bloomberg,...

The shares of CK Hutchison dropped on Friday, after the conglomerate that combines retail and telecoms reported a weaker earnings performance and lower dividends. It also warned about a volatile operating environment. Last year, the group's underlying profit, which has to deal with Beijing's displeasure over the sale its ports business, fell 11% from HK$20,8 billion ($2.7 billion), falling short of expectations. The final dividend for 2023 was reduced to HK$1.514 from HK$1.775 per share. Early Hong Kong trading saw shares of the company drop by 1.9%. The company agreed to sell assets in the vicinity of the strategically significant...

The Panamanian President, Jose Raul Mulino, said that the reports that the U.S. Military is looking at options to ensure full U.S. Access to the Panama Canal are not credible because they came from anonymous sources. He said at a press briefing that if no one signed off on such a claim, he didn't give it any weight. Last week, two anonymous U.S. government officials said that the Pentagon was instructed to assess options in light of President Donald Trump's repeated claims he wanted to "take back", the important global shipping route through Panama. Trump claimed that the tolls on...

Hong Kong's leader John Lee responded on Tuesday that his government is opposed to "coercion and bullying tactics" used by foreign governments, after being questioned about the port deal between CK Hutchison and U.S. company BlackRock. CK Hutchison announced this month that it had agreed to sell the majority of its $22.8 billion global ports business, which includes assets along Panama Canal's strategically important corridor, to a BlackRock-led group in a deal, which has now become politically charged. At his weekly press conference, Lee said that the (Hong Kong government) urges other governments to create a fair and equitable environment...

Two U.S. officials said on Thursday that the U.S. Military must provide options in order to guarantee the United States full access to Panama Canal. Donald Trump has repeatedly said that he wants "to take back" Panama Canal He has not provided any details about the specifics of how he will do this, or whether military action may be necessary. Unnamed U.S. officials said that a document - described as a interim national security guide by the new administration - called for the military to consider military options in order to protect access to the Panama Canal. A second official...

Donald Trump has repeatedly said that he wants "to take back" the Panama Canal, but hasn't given specifics on how he will do it. This article explains the history of the canal and the laws that govern it. Why is the Panama Canal important? The Panama Canal is located in the narrowest part between North and South America. It is one of most important waterways around the globe. The canal recorded 11,240 crossings in 2014, totaling over 235.5 million tonnes of cargo. More than two thirds of the cargo that passes through the canal comes from the U.S. or is...

Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings announced on Tuesday that a consortium, including BlackRock Inc., would purchase an 80% share in a unit which controls ports in Panama at a value of equity equal to $14.21 billion. The sale of 90% of the shares in Panama Ports Company (which owns and operates Balboa Port and Cristobal Port) comes at a time when U.S. president Donald Trump is putting pressure on China to stop its influence and control of the Panama Canal. CK Hutchison operates the ports of Balboa & Cristobal, at the Canal's Pacific & Atlantic entrances, for over two decades....

Some shipping companies move their operations discreetly out of Hong Kong, and remove vessels from its registry. Some shipping companies are making contingency planning to do this. Six shipping executives have said that these low-profile actions are motivated by a fear that their vessels could be seized by Chinese authorities, or face U.S. sanction in the event of a clash between Beijing and Washington. The people said that the growing U.S. scrutiny over the importance of China’s commercial fleet to a potential military conflict, such as one over Taiwan, and Beijing's emphasis of Hong Kong's role in serving Chinese interests...

As they finished their day, clerical workers at an Acapulco Courthouse heard shots. Gunmen opened fire on Magistrate Edmundo Roman Pinzon - a former president in the highest court of Guerrero State - as he attempted to leave the parking lot. The killing on December 11, happened months before the election of federal judges and magistrates. This election marks a major change in Mexico's judicial system, after years of lawlessness. The increased public exposure of candidates for prestigious positions in a country which last year experienced the bloodiest elections it has ever seen, has raised fears that they will become...

The Central American nation's Maritime Authority announced on Wednesday that Panama had made progress in removing vessels from its registry if they did not meet the standards of its flag. This was a response to criticisms by the United States that it had allowed sanctioned nations to move ships under the Panamanian flag. Officials and congressmen from the United States have accused Panama for not doing enough to enforce sanctions against vessels and shipowners from countries such as Russia, Iran and Venezuela. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, has used these arguments in threatening to take over the Panama Canal. Washington...

According to a bulletin released by the Panama Canal's administering authority on Tuesday, the number of ships that passed through it, the second busiest canal in the world, decreased to an average of 32,6 per day, or 1,011 total vessels in January. This is the first monthly decline in nearly a year. According to statistics from the Panama Canal Authority, after a severe drought in 2023 that led to passage restrictions in early 2024, 2024 saw a significant increase in transits, with a total 1,059 vessels in December. The data revealed that the recovery in demand was not sufficient to...

Some U.S. officials and lawmakers are citing a nearly 50-year-old treaty signed between the United States of America and Panama as a way to justify Trump's threat to take back the Panama Canal, provided they can prove that the waterway's operations are threatened. Some, however, believe that obstacles would arise if the U.S. tried to use the 1997 Panama Canal Neutrality Treaty - which went into effect in 1999 - to claim the canal. The treaty guarantees the canal will remain neutral and available to ships from any country. Since 1999, the Panama Canal Authority has controlled the 82-km waterway....

The head of the Federal Maritime Commission will inform a U.S. Senate committee that the United States has choices to resolve the growing presence of China and Chinese firms in Panama. President Donald Trump has sworn that the United States would take back the Panama Canal however has actually given no more details on when or how he planned to reclaim the canal which is the sovereign territory of an ally. We require to increase assistance for American business seeking to do organization in Panama and throughout the Americas. Chinese companies must not be the sole bidders on agreements, Federal...

Donald Trump, the newly sworn in President of the United States, promised on Monday to take back the Panama Canal during his inauguration speech. He invoked the 19th-century expansionist doctrine "Manifest Destiny." Trump reaffirmed his threat made before his inauguration to regain control of the canal. He accused Panama of not fulfilling its promises to transfer the strategic waterway to the United States in 1999, and of transferring the operation to China. The Panamanian government has denied these claims. "We didn't hand it over to China." Trump said, "We gave it to Panama and we're bringing it back." He did...

Demand for U.S. gas to produce melted natural gas (LNG) for export this year is headed for its first decline given that the nation began exporting the superchilled fuel from the lower 48 states eight years back. The U.S. is the world's largest exporter of the superchilled gas and an essential company of gas to Europe in the wake of Russia's. intrusion of Ukraine. Natural gas rates have stayed fairly. high in Europe as the expected U.S. growth in output in 2024 has. not materialized and the continent is bracing for a brand-new gas. price shock as colder winter season...

Argentina's staterun oil company YPF formed a brand-new collaboration with regional oil business to transfer and export oil from its massive Vaca Muerta shale oil formation, the business revealed on Monday. In a statement, YPF stated it was partnering with Vista Energy Argentina, Pampa Energia and Pan American Sur to form VMOS S.A. to run its Vaca Muerta Sur project. The project consists of a 473 km (about 294 miles). pipeline, loading and discharging terminal along with storage. facilities. The project will require an estimated $3 billion in. financing that will be supplied by the partners, as well as. local...

Mexico's Senate on Thursday authorized reforms to enhance conditions for chauffeurs with ridehailing and shipment services such as DiDi, Rappi and Uber, ensuring access to social security and a. Christmas reward, to name a few advantages. The reform passed all with 113 votes in favor, and. will be forwarded to the executive power to get enacted. President Claudia Sheinbaum had actually sent out the proposition to. lawmakers in early December and it was fast-tracked to a plenary. vote ahead of Congress' Christmas recess on Dec. 15. Mexico's judgment Morena celebration and its allies, which won a. landslide success in the...

Mexico's lower house on Tuesday authorized a reform that seeks to regulate labor conditions for shipment employees and motorists working for apps such as DiDi, Rappi and Uber by ensuring access to social security and a Christmas reward to name a few benefits. The reform passed in basic with 462 votes in favor, with no abstentions and no one voting against, following a two-hour argument. Today is a day that ought to go down in history, said ruling Morena celebration legislator Ariadna Barrera, saying the reform would advantage hundreds of thousands of employees and even more the celebration's. efforts to...

Argentina's staterun oil company YPF will seek $2 billion in funding in the 2nd quarter of 2025 to complete its Vaca Muerta Sur job, a company source stated on Wednesday. The project is being performed by Vaca Muerta Oil Sur ( VMOS), which is managed by YPF, and intends to carry an additional 390,000 barrels daily from the Vaca Muerta development to a coastal export terminal in Rio Negro province. The source said that the company is seeking $1.5 billion from foreign investors and $500 million in your area and wishing to add Pampa Energy, Vista, Shell, Chevron and Pan...