Following the Panama Supreme Court's ruling that declared unconstitutional the decision to grant a concession to Panama Ports Company (PPC), there have been new developments in the operations of two of Panama's most important ports—the Cristóbal port on the Atlantic side and the Balboa port on the Pacific side.

The Panama Maritime Authority announced on January 30th, local time, that the Panamanian government has initiated an operational transition plan to ensure continuity in the operations of these two major ports, in order to maintain stability in the global supply chain.

According to the announcement, APM Terminals, a subsidiary of the Maersk Group, has been appointed as the "temporary port operator" during the transition period. Currently, operations at the two major ports are running smoothly without any interruptions.

It was reported that President Mulino of Panama has explicitly stated that the transition process will be advanced in an orderly and coordinated manner in collaboration with Panama Ports Company.

In addition, APM Terminals released a statement on the evening of January 30th, expressing willingness to temporarily take over the operations of the two major ports in Panama.

PPC is a subsidiary of Hong Kong's Hutchison Whampoa Limited (CK Hutchison) and won the concession rights for the Cristóbal and Balboa ports through a bidding process in 1997, with a 25-year renewal of the concession in 2012.

However, in February 2025, the Panamanian Ministry of Justice issued a binding opinion stating that the port concession contract with PPC was unconstitutional. This was due to various issues including tax exemptions provided by the government to PPC leading to a loss of $1.3 billion in national finances, as well as the fact that PPC's actual investment was only $690 million, falling short of the $1 billion threshold required for automatic renewal in 2021.

Ultimately, on January 29, 2026, the Panama Supreme Court ruled that PPC's port concession contract was unconstitutional and invalid.

The industry's heightened interest in this concession dispute stems from an agreement reached in March 2025 by CK Hutchison with a consortium comprising BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) under BlackRock, and Terminal Investment Limited (TiL) under Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) to sell CK Hutchison's ownership and operation of 199 berths in 43 ports across 23 countries and CK Hutchison's 90% stake in PPC.

In response to this transaction, the State Administration for Market Regulation has stated its intention to conduct a lawful review to ensure fair market competition and safeguard public interests.

Regarding the ruling by the Panama Supreme Court, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun responded on January 30th, stating that the relevant companies have issued a statement indicating that they believe the ruling goes against the laws under which the concession was approved in Panama. The companies will retain all rights, including legal proceedings. He further emphasized that China will take all necessary measures to firmly defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.