A drone view reveals Panama Ports Firm (PPC) after Panama’s Official Gazette revealed a courtroom ruling formally annulling Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings concessions for 2 ports alongside its strategic canal, after ruling late January the contracts violated the structure, in Panama Metropolis, Panama.
| Picture Credit score: Reuters
A subsidiary of a Hong Kong-based firm that has misplaced management of two vital ports on the Panama Canal mentioned it’s in search of $2 billion of compensation in damages from Panama over its “unlawful” takeover of the ports.
Panama Ports Firm, a unit of Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings, mentioned in a Friday (March 6, 2026) assertion that it’s demanding the sum beneath worldwide arbitration proceedings that it had already began.
Panama’s authorities final week seized management of the Balboa and Cristobal ports on every finish of the Panama Canal, an important waterway for maritime commerce, after the nation’s Supreme Courtroom declared earlier {that a} concession permitting the Panama Ports Firm to run the pair of ports was unconstitutional.
Panama Ports Firm has operated the 2 ports since 1997 and renewed its concession in 2021 for an additional 25 years. Beijing and Hong Kong’s governments had additionally hit again at Panama over the seizure of the 2 ports.
The 2 ports got here into the highlight after U.S. President Donald Trump, early final yr, accused China of “operating” the Panama Canal.
Additionally learn| Panama Canal: Troubled waters
After CK Hutchison introduced a deal in March final yr that it might promote the majority of their dozens of world ports, together with the 2 Panama ports, to a consortium that concerned U.S. funding agency BlackRock in a $23 billion deal, Beijing was fast to protest, and the deal has been largely stalled over the previous months.
CK Hutchison and the Panama Ports Firm “won’t relent and they don’t seem to be coming for some token aid — they’ll assert all of their rights and damages they’re due due to the novel breaches and anti-investor conduct of the Panamanian State,” Friday’s (March 6) assertion mentioned.
Within the assertion, Panama Ports Firm additionally mentioned the Panamanian state had beforehand misstated the compensation determine sought in press feedback. Panama Financial system Minister Felipe Chapman had earlier mentioned the corporate was in search of $1.5 billion in compensation.
In a separate assertion on Friday (March 6), CK Hutchison accused Panama of occupying the 2 ports and taking the property and personnel of the Panama Ports Firm “with out transparency.” The corporate additionally mentioned it might proceed to “pursue recourse to accessible nationwide and worldwide authorized proceedings” on the matter.
Printed – March 07, 2026 02:47 pm IST