Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison is seeking more than $1.5 billion in damages, after Panama seized two ports the company had operated for nearly 30 years.
According to The Wall Street Journal, CK Hutchison is alleging that Panama violated an investment protection treaty as part of what the company described as a "state attack campaign." Panama's government seized CK Hutchison's Balboa and Cristobal ports in February, following a ruling from the country's Supreme Court that declared the company's concession to run the two ports unconstitutional. The move had come in the wake of political pressure from the Trump administration, which claimed that CK Hutchison's concessions gave China outsized influence over the Panama Canal.
CK Hutchison had run the two ports under its Panama Ports Company (PPC) subsidiary since 1997, and its concession had been renewed for 25 years in 2021. The company originally planned to sell the two contested ports to an investment group led by BlackRock for $23 billion, before Panama's courts intervened to order an outright seizure of the shipping hubs.
In its filing, CK Hutchison alleged that Panama's seizure of the two ports led to the "destruction of the company's investments" in the country. The company also said that it "strongly disagrees" with Panama's actions, and that it will continue to push for a resolution.
PPC sought $2 billion in compensation from Panama in a separate suit filed in March, stemming from alleged violations of international arbitration proceedings. The latest filing from CK Hutchison is focused more on the parent company's treaty rights, which are distinct from PPC's contract rights cited in the subsidiary's earlier case.
