Cranes load a cargo ship at Panama Canal’s Port of Balboa, managed by CK Hutchison Holdings, in Panama City, on Jan. 30, 2026 (AP photo)
Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison said on Aug. 20 that it has filed international arbitration proceedings against Panama over its cancellation of a concession to operate two ports in the Panama Canal.
The dispute stems from a Panama supreme court ruling in January that struck down the contract that let Panama Ports Company (PPC), a unit of CK Hutchison, manage the canal's Pacific port of Balboa and the Atlantic port at Cristobal.
The decision came after claims by U.S. President Donald Trump that China effectively ran the canal, part of broader tensions between Washington and Beijing.
The company on Aug. 20 said it had launched international arbitration proceedings against Panama over
"breaches of an investment protection treaty" that culminated in the cancellation of the concession and takeover of the two ports.
"The Company is seeking damages of more than $1.5 billion for the destruction of the Company's investments in Panama," the firm's board of directors said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Its subsidiary Panama Ports Company had filed a lawsuit opposing the suspension of its Panama Canal operations in February, and announced a month later it was seeking at least $2 billion in damages.
The Panama Canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, handles about 40 percent of U.S. container traffic and five percent of world trade.
