Panama to Occupy Canal Ports After Court Scraps CK Hutchison Deal

Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the worldAmericas+1 212 318 2000EMEA+44 20 7330 7500Asia Pacific+65 6212 1000Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the worldAmericas+1 212 318 2000EMEA+44 20 7330 7500Asia Pacific+65 6212 1000People work on a construction project at the Port of Balboa, managed by CK Hutchison Holdings, at the entrance to the Panama Canal in Panama City on Feb. 23.

Panamanian President José Raul Mulino ordered the temporary occupation of two ports run by a unit of CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. following a top court’s ruling against the firm’s concession, escalating a dispute that has become a proxy battle between the US and China in Latin America. Mulino said in a speech Monday that the administration and operation of the two ports on the strategic Panama Canal will revert to the country’s National Maritime Authority to guarantee the facilities’ “uninterrupted, safe and efficient operation.”