3 months ago
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A subsidiary of a Hong Kong-based institution that has mislaid power of 2 captious ports connected the Panama Canal said it is seeking $2 cardinal of compensation successful damages from Panama implicit its “illegal” takeover of the ports.
Panama Ports Company, a portion of Hong Kong's CK Hutchison Holdings, said successful a Friday (March 6, 2026) connection that it is demanding the sum nether planetary arbitration proceedings that it had already started.
Panama's authorities past week seized power of the Balboa and Cristobal ports connected each extremity of the Panama Canal, a important waterway for maritime trade, aft the country's Supreme Court declared earlier that a concession allowing the Panama Ports Company to tally the brace of ports was unconstitutional.
Panama Ports Company has operated the 2 ports since 1997 and renewed its concession successful 2021 for different 25 years. Beijing and Hong Kong's governments had besides deed backmost astatine Panama implicit the seizure of the 2 ports.
The 2 ports came into the spotlight aft US President Donald Trump, aboriginal past year, accused China of “running” the Panama Canal.
After CK Hutchison announced a woody successful March past twelvemonth that it would merchantability the bulk of their dozens of planetary ports, including the 2 Panama ports, to a consortium that progressive U.S. concern steadfast BlackRock successful a $23 cardinal deal, Beijing was speedy to protest, and the woody has been mostly stalled implicit the past months.
CK Hutchison and the Panama Ports Company “will not relent and they are not coming for immoderate token alleviation — they volition asseverate each of their rights and damages they are owed due to the fact that of the extremist breaches and anti-investor behaviour of the Panamanian State,” Friday's (March 6) connection said.
In the statement, Panama Ports Company besides said the Panamanian authorities had antecedently misstated the compensation fig sought successful property comments. Panama Economy Minister Felipe Chapman had earlier said the institution was seeking $1.5 cardinal successful compensation.
In a abstracted connection connected Friday (March 6), CK Hutchison accused Panama of occupying the 2 ports and taking the spot and unit of the Panama Ports Company “without transparency.” The institution besides said it would proceed to “pursue recourse to disposable nationalist and planetary ineligible proceedings” connected the matter.
