The Straits Times | 19 March 2026
Singapore-based energy firm Sinolam files arbitration request against Panama
by Reuters
Singapore-based energy developer Sinolam International has filed for arbitration before a World Bank international court against Panama following the cancellation of its licence for a gas-fired power generation project, the company said on March 19.
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes registered a request for arbitration proceedings on March 16, according to the tribunal’s records.
The arbitration is based on the Panama-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, Sinolam said in a release, adding that it had invested in the project, intended to build and operate a 441MW plant to provide low-emission electricity for Panama. But in 2024, the government unilaterally cancelled the licence through regulatory action.
The arbitration request follows a separate US$4 billion (S$5.1 billion) lawsuit filed in 2026 by Sinolam LNG Terminal and Sinolam Smarter Energy LNG Power in a Virginia court against US-based utility AES Corp and InterEnergy Holdings.
In its complaint, Sinolam accused AES and its partners of anti-competitive conduct aimed at derailing Sinolam’s planned LNG terminal and the gas-fired power project in Colon, Panama.
AES in February said the claim lacked merit and that it was preparing its defence.
The Sinolam case adds to a growing list of international legal challenges for Panama.
Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings is also engaged in a high-profile arbitration process against the government over its port concessions on both ends near the Panama Canal.
Panama Ports Company (PPC), a unit of CK Hutchison, said on March 16 that the Panamanian government failed to meet a March 13 deadline to file its response in an international arbitration brought by the company before the International Chamber of Commerce.
PPC said Panama had sought a partial extension, claiming it was not ready to respond because it had not yet hired lawyers.
Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino on March 19 called the PPC comments “outrageous and a lie”, saying the government has already appointed international lawyers to defend Panama in the process.
