Panama bids for full ownership of strategic oil terminal

Panama’s government will buy the remaining 41% private stake in Petroterminal de Panama, the ​economy and finance ministry said on Friday, handing ‌the state full ownership of a strategic energy and logistics asset in a move aimed at tightening national control over critical infrastructure.

The acquisition ​will give Panama 100% ownership of Petroterminal, which ​the government described as a key platform for the ⁠country’s logistics and energy development and an asset with ​broader strategic importance.

The government said the deal would be financed ​through the company’s own cash flow and was a contractual purchase under an existing legal right dating back to 1977, rather than an ​expropriation. Officials said the option was established in the company’s ​association contract and accepted by all shareholders.

The purchase price will be calculated ‌using ⁠a pre-agreed formula based on Petroterminal’s audited financial statements, the ministry said. It added that the transaction would not require funding from the national treasury, would not add to ​public debt and ​would not ⁠affect spending on public works, social programs or other state investments.

President Jose Raul Mulino’s administration ​said full ownership would allow Panama to capture ​more ⁠of the value generated by the company, support investment in the energy, logistics and maritime sectors and reinforce sovereignty over a ⁠strategic ​national asset.

Economy and Finance Minister Felipe ​Chapman said the company would be managed under international standards of efficiency, transparency ​and corporate governance.

(Reporting by Elida Moreno; Editing by Natalia Siniawski)