Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison Holdings has defended the contract that has allowed it to run two ports at the Panama Canal since 1997, saying the concession was “validly executed and approved by law” and denying it failed to pay US$1.2 billion to the country, as had been claimed in a legal challenge by two lawyers.
Breaking its silence for the first time since revealing the sale of its 43 overseas ports, the conglomerate’s subsidiary, the Panama Ports Company (PPC), issued a response to the recent legal challenge filed in Panama.
The deal, announced on March 4, includes the two ports at the vital waterway.
The company denied a number of accusations in the legal challenge.
A key argument in its defence was that it had made over US$1.695 billion in investments in the two ports, exceeding the required US$50 million in the original concession contract, and another US$1 billion agreed in an addendum the conglomerate and the Panamanian state had voluntarily entered into in 2005.
“We firmly believe that respect for legal certainty gives companies and investors the certainty that Panama is a safe country in which to invest,” the PPC said.
“Our philosophy of ‘Ports made by Panamanians’ reflects our continuous commitment to the country and its people, being an essential engine within the dynamic national economy and the maritime port sector.
