PANAMANIAN authorities began an audit of the China-linked company that controls two ports adjacent to the Panama Canal, as President Donald Trump repeats threats to take over the waterway.
The comptroller’s office sent a team of auditors on Monday (Jan 20) to the local offices of the Panama Ports Company, a subsidiary of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison Holdings, to launch their investigation, the comptroller’s office said on X.
Auditors will conduct an “exhaustive” review to “guarantee the efficient and transparent use of public resources,” according to the statement.
Comptroller General Anel Bolo Flores said last week the probe would seek to verify compliance with the terms of a 25-year concession granted to the company and promised a “severe and strong” financial audit. Panama initially granted the concession in 1998, and the Panama Maritime Authority authorised its renewal in 2021.
Flores said the ports now handle significantly more cargo than in 1998 and the concession doesn’t include a large enough share of revenue for the government. Flores visited the Maritime Authority on Monday to inform them of the audit.
The scrutiny comes as Trump accuses Panama of allowing China to meddle in the canal. In his inaugural address on Monday, Trump reiterated his claim that China is operating the waterway and said that his administration would take it back. Hong Kong is a Chinese city but with its own borders, currency and legal system.
Panama’s government has repeatedly denied that there is any Chinese presence in the canal, and Trump has not yet produced any evidence to contradict this.
President Jose Raul Mulino on Monday reiterated in a post on X that the canal will remain under Panamanian control. BLOOMBERG
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