Panama court to hear challenge to Hong Kong firm’s canal concession

Panama court reviews concession to Hong Kong firm managing Panama Canal ports amid Trump's Chinese influence concerns.

A Panama court has agreed to review the concession granted to a Hong Kong-based firm to operate ports on either end of the Panama Canal — the source of U.S. President Donald Trump's concerns for Chinese influence over the waterway.

The Supreme Court has agreed to consider a request filed by a lawyer to nullify the contract to CK Hutchison Holdings, owned by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, Panama’s judicial branch said in a statement.

A subsidiary of CK Hutchison manages two of the canal’s five ports, an arrangement in place since 1997 via a concession from the Panama government.

The latest lawsuit will consider the “automatic extension” of concession rights until 2047, according to court documents.

This is the second challenge to the contract after two other lawyers filed a similar case earlier this month, claiming the concession was unconstitutional.

Panama Ports Company — a CK Hutchison Holdings subsidiary — manages the ports of Cristobal on the canal's Atlantic side and Balboa on the Pacific side.

That arrangement was automatically renewed in 2021.