Here's what we know about the port operator and the deal:

- Ports operator -

Since 1997, Hutchison Ports PPC -- also called the Panama Ports Company SA -- has managed ports at each end of the Panama Canal via a concession from the Panama government: the port of Cristobal on the Atlantic side and Balboa on the Pacific side.

The concession was extended for 25 years in 2021.

PPC said last year that it is the "only port operator in the country where the state is a shareholder", and that it had paid the Panama government US$59 million in the past three years.

It also says its workforce is almost entirely Panamanian.

PPC's parent company is CK Hutchison, one of Hong Kong's largest conglomerates spanning finance, retail, infrastructure, telecoms and logistics.

The firm was built from nothing by Li Ka-shing -- the richest man in the Chinese finance hub and nicknamed "Superman" for his business acumen.

It now has a hand in running 53 ports in 24 nations, including in Britain, Spain and Australia.

Panama's five main ports are all located near the canal and are operated by concessionaires from the United States, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.

The canal is used mainly by the United States and China and carries five percent of the world's maritime trade.

- Trump's threat -

Donald Trump has fixated on the question of who controls shipping in the Panama Canal, which Washington built more than a century ago and handed over to Panama.

The US president has repeatedly threatened the use of force to seize the canal, claiming CK Hutchison's ownership of two ports gave China control over the strategic waterway.

Panama rejected the claim that China had de facto control over the canal, which handles 40 percent of US container traffic, while taking various actions to appease Trump.

CK Hutchison announced in March last year that it would offload a 90 percent stake in PPC, and sell a slew of other non-Chinese ports to a group led by US asset manager BlackRock for about US$19 billion.

Panama insisted that it had no hand in Hutchison's sale, insisting it was a deal "between private companies".

Local authorities also began piling pressure on Hutchison, which handled 39 percent of the containers that passed through the country's docks in 2024, according to the Panamanian Maritime Authority.

On Friday, its Supreme Court ruled in favour of Panama's attorney general that the concession granted to Hutchison was unconstitutional.

- China's warning -

Chinese state media previously slammed CK Hutchison's proposed sale of the ports to BlackRock, while Beijing officials have urged parties involved to exercise "caution", warning of legal consequences should they proceed without their clearance.

The deal cannot be viewed as purely commercial because the operations in the canal are instrumental to the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing's infrastructure programme, the Chinese media said.

CK Hutchison has not publicly responded to criticism of the deal.

Analysts told AFP that China's fury at the sale of the Panama Canal ports to a US-led consortium reflected how container hubs have become prized currency as Beijing and Washington vie for global influence.

China's next moves in scrutinising CK Hutchison may also have far-reaching implications for Hong Kong and its role as China's business gateway to the world, analysts said.

Panama's administrator said in November that China is among the parties interested in bidding to build two new ports on the canal, despite US talk of retaking control of it.

CK Hutchison last year said it was looking to invite a Chinese "major strategic investor" to join discussions.

It had stated on several occasions that it "will not proceed with any transaction that does not have the approval of all relevant authorities".

The Hong Kong firm is exploring an alternative option to sell its ports by splitting the deal into separate parcels with new ownership terms to a consortium, Bloomberg reported this month.

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