Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Seeks $1.5 Billion From Panama Over Canal Port Seizure

CK Hutchison, a major Hong Kong-based conglomerate, initiated arbitration proceedings Thursday seeking more than $1.5 billion in damages from Panama following the government’s seizure of two strategically important ports flanking the Panama Canal. The company alleges Panama violated an international investment treaty through deliberate government actions targeting its long-standing port operations concession, characterizing the takeover as part of a coordinated campaign against its assets in the Central American nation.

Panama’s government confiscated the Balboa and Cristobal ports in February after the nation’s Supreme Court determined that CK Hutchison’s subsidiary’s decades-long operating concession was unconstitutional. The subsidiary, Panama Ports Company, had managed the dual ports since 1997 and secured a 25-year contract renewal in 2021 before the legal challenge emerged.

The port dispute has become entangled in broader U.S.-China geopolitical friction following Donald Trump’s return to the White House, with the former president alleging China maintains improper control over the strategically vital waterway. Although Panama owns and operates the canal itself, the seizure has drawn sharp criticism from Beijing and Hong Kong authorities.

The new arbitration represents CK Hutchison’s second legal challenge against Panama, distinct from an earlier claim filed by Panama Ports Company seeking at least $2 billion in compensation. In April, the subsidiary also initiated separate proceedings against Danish logistics giant Maersk over disputed port operations, which Maersk denied would result in liability.

The disputes complicate CK Hutchison’s previously announced $23 billion sale of its global ports portfolio to a BlackRock-led investment consortium, a deal that has stalled amid legal challenges and mounting geopolitical tensions among the three parties.