Could constitutional challenges further delay or even block Hutchison’s Panama deal?

A high-stakes deal for control over two of the Panama Canal’s most strategic port terminals has hit a wall of geopolitical and legal resistance, with mounting pressure from China and a constitutional challenge in the Central American country delaying its signing, potentially derailing the agreement.

Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison had been set to finalise the sale of its global port assets – including the Balboa and Cristobal terminals – to a consortium led by US investment giant BlackRock this week.

But as of Wednesday, no agreement had been reached, with both companies still negotiating amid a last-minute antitrust investigation by Beijing and legal turbulence in Panama’s courts.

The delay throws one of the most geopolitically sensitive commercial sales in recent years into uncertainty, as tensions between the United States and China escalate over control of strategic infrastructure in Latin America and beyond.

First announced on March 4, the proposed sale would hand over 43 ports in 23 countries to BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager. While many of those assets lie outside the Western Hemisphere, the terminals at either end of the Panama Canal are seen as the crown jewels – essential links in global trade routes and of deep strategic interest to Washington.

For months, the transaction was largely seen as a business story. That changed after China’s State Administration for Market Regulation said it would review the deal on antitrust grounds, despite the ports being outside mainland China.