CKH HOLDINGS (00001.HK)  -0.850 (-1.415%)    Short selling $130.18M; Ratio 30.615%   's Panama Ports Company, S.A. (PPC) advised that it has taken additional legal actions against the illegal takeover by the Panamanian State of the ports of Balboa and Cristobal in Panama on and after 23 February 2026.

In addition to the State campaign carried out over the past year, the unlawful actions and words of the Panamanian State have led foreign investors to be unable to rely on laws and contracts, or on the statements by the State. Therefore, PPC, and CK Hutchison Holdings Limited (CKH), continue to take additional steps to protect and pursue their rights and damages.

PPC already filed an international arbitration against the Republic of Panama under the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce seeking at least US$2 billion in damages, a figure that has been misstated by the Panamanian State in press comments.

PPC filed a recourse related to Executive Decree No. 23 dated 23 February 2026 based on its extreme scope mandating the taking of all property of PPC, including expansive property and equipment at the port terminals as well as proprietary and legally protected documents and information. The recourse also challenges the Panamanian State’s corresponding radical implementation of the Decree, and the seizure and misuse of PPC property unrelated to port operations.

PPC filed a further request with the Panama Maritime Authority demanding immediate access to and return of PPC’s proprietary and legally protected documents and information. The foregoing was requested as a result of the Panamanian State’s unlawful seizure of documents of PPC, a private entity, held at a private storage facility, based on the Panamanian State’s faulty assertion that the documents were relevant to the transfer of port operations, and despite a lack of valid court authorization.

PPC has been advised that CK Hutchison submitted a supplement to its previous notice of dispute under a bilateral investment treaty, highlighting that the Panamanian State disregarded prior communications and consultations over time, and further good faith efforts to consult, and instead, without transparency, took over the ports as well as the property and personnel of PPC.

These steps by PPC and CK Hutchison follow the year-long campaign by the Panamanian State, the lawless steps by the State over the past month based on an unpublished court ruling, the extreme executive mandates and implementation of the takeover of the terminals of the ports, the taking of the property and personnel of PPC, and the repeated inaccurate statements made by public officials in the press and otherwise. As PPC has advised in prior statements, the conduct of the Panamanian State is inconsistent with applicable law, contract, and treaty rights. They are also inconsistent with the longstanding position of the State over almost three decades.

These are some of the steps that PPC, and CK Hutchison, have taken in recent days. They will not relent and they are not coming for some token relief - they will assert all of their rights and damages they are due because of the radical breaches and anti-investor conduct of the Panamanian State. PPC, and CK Hutchison also permanently reserve all rights and recourse against the State, its agents, and third parties.
(HK stocks quote is delayed for at least 15 mins.Short Selling Data as at 2026-03-12 16:25.)