Cosco Shipping’s possible inclusion in the MSC/BlackRock consortium heightens geopolitical stakes, but the carrier may not be buying a stake in the Panama ports.

Panama’s comptroller general asked its Supreme Court to review the government’s contract extension with CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd.’s local ports unit, potentially throwing a new wrench into the conglomerate’s deal to sell its global terminals business.

CK Hutchison holds a 90% stake in the local Panama Ports Company, which had a 25-year concession to operate the Balboa and Cristobal ports, located at both ends of the canal, renewed in 2021. The contract has been at the center of a dispute since U.