HONG KONG (AP) — A subsidiary of a Hong Kong-based company that has lost control of two critical ports on the Panama Canal said it is seeking $2 billion of compensation in damages from Panama over its “illegal” takeover of the ports.
Panama Ports Company, a unit of Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings, said in a Friday statement that it is demanding the sum under international arbitration proceedings that it had already started.
Panama’s government last week seized control of the Balboa and Cristobal ports on each end of the Panama Canal, a crucial waterway for maritime trade, after the country’s Supreme Court declared earlier that a concession allowing the Panama Ports Company to run the pair of ports was unconstitutional.
Panama Ports Company operated the two ports since 1997 and had only renewed its concession in 2021 for another 25 years. Beijing and Hong Kong’s governments had also hit back at Panama over the seizure of the two ports.
The two ports came into the spotlight after U.S. President Donald Trump, early last year, accused China of “running” the Panama Canal.
After CK Hutchison announced a deal in March last year that it would sell the bulk of their dozens of global ports, including the two Panama ports, to a consortium that involved U.S. investment firm BlackRock in a $23 billion deal, Beijing was quick to protest and the deal has been largely stalled over the past months.
CK Hutchison and the Panama Ports Company “will not relent and they are not coming for some token relief – they will assert all of their rights and damages they are due because of the radical breaches and anti-investor conduct of the Panamanian State,” Friday's statement said.
In the statement, Panama Ports Company also said the Panamanian state had previously misstated the compensation figure sought in press comments. Panama Economy Minister Felipe Chapman had earlier said the company was seeking $1.5 billion in compensation.
In a separate statement on Friday, CK Hutchison accused Panama of occupying the two ports and taking the property and personnel of the Panama Ports Company “without transparency.” The company also said it would continue to “pursue recourse to available national and international legal proceedings” on the matter.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Exclusive film screening in San Mateo Read moreA LITTLE FELLOW: THE LEGACY OF A.P.GIANNINI
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.