Singapore-based Sinolam International seeks World Bank arbitration after Panama revokes gas‑plant licence

Singapore-based Sinolam International seeks World Bank arbitration after Panama revokes gas‑plant licence



Singapore-based energy developer Sinolam International has filed for arbitration before a World Bank international court against Panama following the cancellation of its license for a gas-fired power generation project, the company said yetserday. — Pexels pic

Friday, 20 Mar 2026 1:07 PM MYT


SINGAPORE, March 20 — Singapore-based energy developer Sinolam International has filed for arbitration before a World Bank international court against Panama following the cancellation of its license for a gas-fired power generation project, the company said yetserday.

The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes registered a request for arbitration proceedings on Monday, according to the tribunal’s records.


The arbitration is based on the Panama-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, Sinolam added in a release.

The company said it had invested in the project, intended to build and operate a 441-megawatt plant to provide low-emission electricity for Panama, but in 2024, the government unilaterally cancelled the license through regulatory action. The arbitration request follows a separate US$4 billion (RM15.7 billion) lawsuit filed this year 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, a unit of CK Hutchison, said ⁠on Monday 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 Thursday called the PPC comments “outrageous and a lie,” adding that the government has already appointed international lawyers to defend Panama in the process. — Reuters

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