US President Donald Trump’s claim that China controls the Panama Canal has placed a Hong Kong tycoon and his conglomerate at the heart of a showdown between the US and China.

That sprawling company, CK Hutchison Holdings, is one of Hong Kong’s most valuable publicly listed companies and counts some of the world’s biggest investors as shareholders.

One of its subsidiaries, Hutchison Ports, has been involved in the Panama Canal since 1997.

Of Panama’s five ports, Hutchison’s are the biggest – one at each end of the canal.

According to the Panama Maritime Authority, Hutchison’s ports in 2024 served vessels carrying 39 per cent of the cargo containers that passed through the canal, one of the world’s most vital waterways. (The other ports are owned by a Taiwanese company, a Singaporean company and a US-Panama joint venture.)

The company’s role brings to the surface unresolved questions for Washington about Beijing’s influence over Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, which has become more pronounced in recent years.

Source: STRAITTIMES