Panama’s Supreme Court is nearing a decision in a lawsuit that could void a Hong Kong company’s license to operate two container ports at either end of the Panama Canal, The Wall Street Journal reported. 

The case centers on Panama Ports Co., controlled by Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison, which operates the Balboa terminal on the Pacific side, and the Cristóbal terminal on the Atlantic side of the waterway. The court is winding up deliberations, and a ruling is expected soon, WSJ said. 

Attorneys and Panama’s comptroller filed multiple lawsuits alleging Hutchison breached Panama’s constitution by acting against the interests of the government and taxpayers. A government audit cited by the news outlet found up to $1.3 billion in lost public revenue since Hutchison arrived in the late 1990s.

Panamanian Finance Minister Felipe Chapman told the Journal that Hutchison’s relationship with Panamanian society “has been very tense and difficult.” 

Chapman and senior officials said they are prepared to execute the court’s decision, including recruiting an interim operator to keep the terminals running while the government opens a new bidding process that could rewrite license terms and potentially separate the two ports to maximize value, according to the newspaper. 

President José Raúl Mulino has said he will comply with the ruling but has signaled skepticism about preserving the current arrangement. “I don’t see the continuation of the Panama Ports contract at the moment,” Mulino said last year, according to the Journal. 

The stakes extend beyond Panama’s borders. The Journal noted that at least 5% of global trade flows through the canal, making uninterrupted terminal operations critical to the worldwide transshipment system. 

Alberto Alemán, a former Panama Canal administrator who now advises the Mulino administration, told the newspaper that “the continuity of operations is fundamental for the transshipment industry worldwide.”

Read more at The Wall Street Journal