Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison said in a statement on Feb. 3 it has initiated international arbitration against Panama, after a ruling by the country's top court annulled a concession allowing it to operate ports at the Panama Canal.
The company's subsidiary Panama Ports Company (PPC) said in a press release it has begun arbitration "after a campaign by the Panamanian state specifically against PPC and its concession contract, throughout a year marked by a series of abrupt actions by the Panamanian state, culminating in serious damages."
The statement does not specify the amount of money being sought through arbitration.
Panama's Supreme Court last week invalidated Hutchison's contract following repeated threats from President Donald Trump that the United States would seek to reclaim the waterway he said was effectively being controlled by China.
The ruling declared the contract "unconstitutional" and found it had "a disproportionate bias in favor of the company" without "any justification" and to the "detriment of the State's treasury."
Since 1997, Hutchison had managed the ports of Cristobal on the canal's Atlantic side and Balboa on the Pacific side.
The concession was extended for 25 years in 2021.
After the ruling, the Panamanian government tapped Danish company Maersk to temporarily take over management of the port terminals until a new concession is awarded.
