CK Hutchison launches $1.5 billion arbitration claim against Panama over seized canal ports

CK Hutchison disclosed that it has initiated fresh arbitration proceedings to recover more than $1.5 billion from Panama, accusing the Central American nation of breaching an investment protection treaty by seizing its Balboa and Cristobal port concessions. The ports were taken in February after Panama’s Supreme Court declared the concession held by the company’s Panama Ports Company unconstitutional. The conglomerate argues the seizure constitutes a “state attack campaign” on its assets amid heightened U.S.-China rivalry over the canal.

Previously, the subsidiary had filed a separate arbitration claim for at least $2 billion over the same takeover. In addition, the subsidiary has launched arbitration against Maersk over the latter’s assumption of some port operations in Panama. The dispute follows CK Hutchison’s stalled $23 billion sale of its global ports business, which was hindered by geopolitical and legal challenges.