CK Hutchison Files Second Panama Claim Seeking $1.5 Billion

CK Hutchison Holdings has opened a second arbitration claim against the Republic of Panama, seeking more than $1.5 billion in damages for what it describes as breaches of investment protection treaties and of international law. The filing sits on top of a separate case brought by the Panama Ports Company that could exceed $2 billion.

The Hong Kong group's case reaches back to early 2025, when it says Panama launched a campaign with a series of state actions targeting its investments. It points specifically to a sudden new investigation that it says lacked due process, to a reversal of the state's longstanding legal position protecting the concession, and to efforts to replace the Panama Ports Company as operator.

The legal turning point came in early 2026, when Panama's Supreme Court declared the enabling laws behind the concession unconstitutional. The concession had been held since 1997 and was renewed in 2021 for a further 25 years, covering terminals at Balboa on the Pacific side and Cristobal on the Atlantic side of the isthmus.

Panama moved quickly to keep the boxes moving. Temporary contracts went to Terminal Investments Limited, the terminal arm of MSC, and to APM Terminals, the Maersk terminal business. The state has since signalled a competitive tender under a different structure, with bidders limited to one terminal each rather than the single-operator model that CK Hutchison held for nearly three decades.

CK Hutchison argues that Panama did not attempt to settle the treaty dispute before the operator was displaced. It says only one perfunctory consultation meeting took place and that no offer of compensation was made.

The two arbitrations together put a combined figure north of $3.5 billion in front of tribunals over assets at both ends of the canal. For the carriers now handling the terminals on interim terms, the outcome determines whether the tender they are preparing for is a clean start or a contested one.