Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings, controlled by billionaire Li Ka-shing, risks losing its rights to operate major ports at both ends of the Panama Canal after the country’s Supreme Court ruled its subsidiary’s contract unconstitutional.
The decision was announced in a statement posted on the official social media account of the Panama Judiciary on Thursday local time.
In the statement, the Palace of Justice Gil Ponce said the concession contract for the development, construction, operation, administration and management of the Balboa and Cristobal ports between the state and the Panama Ports Company (PPC), a CK Hutchison subsidiary, was unconstitutional.
The statement added that the decision was reached “following extensive deliberation and discussion”.
CK Hutchison holds a 90 per cent stake in PPC, which had a 25-year concession to operate the Balboa and Cristobal ports that was renewed in 2021.
The South China Morning Post has reached out to CK Hutchison for comment.
