Overview

• Panama’s Supreme Court is reviewing two lawsuits filed by Comptroller General Anel Flores aiming to declare unconstitutional and nullify the 25-year concession for the Balboa and Cristóbal ports.
• Anel Flores says his office’s audit uncovered multiple breaches and accounting irregularities that cost Panama’s state coffers over $300 million.
• President José Raul Mulino has endorsed the legal challenge and indicated that state-led public-private partnerships could assume port operations if the contract is voided.
• CK Hutchison holds a 90% stake in Panama Ports Company, which renewed its concession in 2021 without the comptroller’s approval.
• The court’s ruling will determine whether the $22.8 billion deal by an MSC-BlackRock consortium for CK Hutchison’s global port assets, including the two Panama terminals, can go ahead.