The Panamanian government, with the active support of the American administration, cancelled key contracts with a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. managing terminals at the ports of Balboa and Cristobal. This is reported by foreign media.
Control of the terminals was temporarily transferred for up to 18 months to Western operators controlled by the Danish company A. P. Moller-Maersk and the Swiss Mediterranean Shipping Co. based on a decision by the Supreme Court of Panama, which declared the previous concessions unconstitutional because they provided the Chinese company with exclusive privileges and tax benefits.
The decision was made against the background of the escalating US-Chinese confrontation over control of the Panama Canal, which, from the point of view of the American administration, is of strategic importance for US national security.
C. K. Hutchison considers the decree an illegal seizure of assets and stops operations in Panama. Panama Ports Company (PPC), a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd., has operated the ports of Balboa (Pacific Ocean) and Cristobal (Atlantic) since 1997.
In March 2025, CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. sold 90% in the port infrastructure of the Panama Canal, as well as 80% in Hutchison Port Holdings, which owns 43 seaports in 23 countries around the world. The value of the transaction was $22.8 billion.
CK Hutchison has a limited presence in Panama and the United States, as the company is registered in the Cayman Islands and generates only 12% of revenue, with Europe, Canada and Australia accounting for the bulk of the rest of the profits.
CK Hutchison Holdings is a Hong Kong—based multinational asset management corporation in the fields of port logistics, retail, transportation and engineering infrastructure, energy, telecommunications and biotechnology. The headquarters is located in Hong Kong.
