CK Hutchison escalates legal action over Panama ports seizure

Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings has stepped up legal action in response to what it called Panamanian authorities’ unlawful takeover of the operations of two ports at either end of the strategic canal.The group, led by the family of Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, said on Friday it had submitted a supplement to its earlier petition against the Panamanian state for an international arbitration.The supplement alleged that Panama continued ignoring the firm’s requests for communication while keeping the group in the dark about its occupation of the ports, property and personnel of its subsidiary, Panama-ports-company" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="21470" data-entity-type="organization">Panama Ports Company (PPC).CK Hutchison also said the Panama state made “various inaccurate remarks” related to PPC, which had aggravated the circumstances.“PPC continues to challenge the unlawful confiscation of its proprietary and legally protected documents and materials by the Panama State,” the group said.CK Hutchison’s legal action was sparked by a Panamanian Supreme Court ruling in January that declared unconstitutional the law approving the concession held by PPC. The concession was renewed in 2021 for 25 years until 2047.