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 authoritiesโ€™ 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 international arbitration.

The supplement alleged that Panama continued to ignore the firmโ€™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 (PPC).

CK Hutchison also said the Panamanian state made โ€œvarious inaccurate remarksโ€ related to PPC, which had aggravated the circumstances.

โ€œPPC continues to challenge the unlawful confiscation of its proprietary and legally protected documents and materials by the Panama state,โ€ the group said.

CK Hutchisonโ€™s legal action was sparked by a Panamanian Supreme Court ruling in January, which declared the law approving the concession held by PPC as unconstitutional. The concession was renewed in 2021 for 25 years until 2047.

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