Panama Ports Company seeks $2 billion in arbitration over canal port seizure

Panama Ports Company, a subsidiary of Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings, said Friday it is demanding $2 billion in damages from Panama through international arbitration, calling the government’s seizure of two key Panama Canal ports “illegal.”

The dispute has drawn the governments of China and Hong Kong into direct confrontation with Panama at a moment when the canal sits at the center of U.S.-China geopolitical rivalry, with a separate $23 billion deal to sell the ports to a consortium including U.S. investment firm BlackRock still largely stalled.

Panama’s government last week seized control of the Balboa and Cristobal ports — one at each end of the waterway — after the country’s Supreme Court declared the firm’s operating concession unconstitutional.

Damages claim

Panama Ports Company said in a Friday statement that the arbitration proceedings had already been initiated and that the company would pursue the full $2 billion sum. “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,” the statement said.

The company also said Panama had “previously misstated” the compensation figure sought in press comments. Panama Economy Minister Felipe Chapman had earlier stated the company was seeking $1.5 billion.

In a separate Friday statement, CK Hutchison accused Panama of occupying the two ports and taking the company’s property and personnel “without transparency,” and said it would continue to “pursue recourse to available national and international legal proceedings.”

Port history and the stalled BlackRock deal

Panama Ports Company has operated the Balboa and Cristobal ports since 1997. The company renewed its concession in 2021 for an additional 25 years.

The ports drew international attention after U.S. President Donald Trump accused China of “running” the Panama Canal early last year. CK Hutchison subsequently announced a deal in March 2025 to sell the bulk of its global ports — including the Balboa and Cristobal facilities — to a consortium that included BlackRock, in a transaction valued at $23 billion. Beijing moved quickly to protest the proposed sale, and the deal has been largely stalled since.

The governments of both China and Hong Kong have since criticized Panama’s seizure of the ports.