According to audit results released on Monday ( Apr 7 ), the Hong Kong company whose management of two ports at either end of the Panama Canal sparked US President Donald Trump’s ire flouted the terms of its contract.
The audit found “many breaches” of the concession granted to a subsidiary of logistics company CK Hutchison to run the two ports, and it claimed Panama did not receive the$ 1.2 billion it was due under the contract.
The assessment results were made public hrs before US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was scheduled to visit Panama, which has been under intense pressure from Trump to lessen Chinese control in the canal.
The Central American nation has pressed CK Hutchison to abandon its power of the ships in response to Trump’s repeated challenges to “take up” the US-built river.
The company made an announcement in March to promote 43 ships in 23 nations, including its two on the interoceanic Panama Canal, to a team led by large property director BlackRock for US$ 19 billion in cash.
Beijing, which is angry, has since announced an antitrust assessment of the agreement, which is likely to prevent the events from signing it on April 2 as planned.