Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison did not uphold Panama Canal ports contract: Panama audit

Name: Why the US is worried about China’s growing influence in South America
Uploaded: 2025-04-07T22:37:46.000Z
Duration: 10 min 37 s
Description: Why the US is worried about China’s growing influence in South America

Comptroller office said it will sue over renewal of 25-year concession and that officials must explain ‘why there was so much magnanimity’ in the deal

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View of the Port of Balboa, managed by CK Hutchison Holdings, based in Hong Kong, located at the entrance to the Panama Canal in Panama City, on March 12, 2025. Photo: AFP

Igor Patrickin Washington

Published: 6:37am, 8 Apr 2025Updated: 8:54am, 8 Apr 2025

Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings deprived Panama of more than US$1.3 billion through a decades-old ports concession that was “negotiated against the Republic”, Panama’s comptroller general said Monday, citing the results of a sweeping financial audit.

Presenting the findings at a press conference in Panama City, Anel Flores said the contract signed in 1997 with Hutchison’s Panama Ports Company (PPC) ran counter to national interests, and accused former officials of favouring private interests over the state.

“Those Panamanians negotiated for themselves, not for the Republic of Panama,” Flores said. He called the concession “abusive” and said the amounts paid to the state were little more than “a tip”.

The audit was launched on January 20, the same day US President Donald Trump was inaugurated.

Although Flores insisted the investigation was initiated independently to protect Panama’s financial interests, a source familiar with the matter told the Post earlier this year that the government was also motivated by pressure from US President Donald Trump’s administration. Officials had been looking for ways to counter Trump’s claims that Chinese firms had de facto control over the Panama Canal .

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Why the US is worried about China’s growing influence in South America

The investigation claimed, however, that PPC generated US$3.78 billion from its operations at the Balboa and Cristóbal terminals between 1997 and 2023, while Panama received just US$236 million.