CK Hutchison Rejects Accusations Over Panama Ports Payments
The Cheung Kong Center building, which houses the headquarters of CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd., in Hong Kong. The accusation ratchets up pressure on CK Hutchison and its precarious position in the middle of a US-China spat.
Photographer: Leung Man Hei/BloombergCK Hutchison Holdings Ltd rejected accusations it failed to pay about 1.2 billion balboas ($1.2 billion) to the Panamanian state over the concession contract to run the two key ports in the Central American country.
The accusations are “absolutely contrary to reality.” and the company has invested more than 1.695 billion balboas, Panama Ports Co., a unit of the Hong Kong-listed conglomerate, said in a statement. That surpasses the 50 million balboas required under the original concession contract and the 1 billion balboas agreed under the addendum to operate the Balboa and Cristobal port terminals. Panama’s comptroller general confirmed this in 2020 after a thorough audit process, the company said.