CK Hutchison's (HKG:0001) port business invested $1.7 billion in two ports near the Panama Canal, more than the amount stipulated in its contract, the conglomerate said Wednesday.

Panama Ports or PPC, which is 90% owned by Li Ka-Shing's company, released the statement after the Central American country's comptroller-general found Panama "left $1.3 billion on the table" due to tax incentives granted to CK Hutchison, according to a separate Reuters report.

The port operator, which handles the Balboa and Cristobal ports, denied the irregularities, saying it had contributed more than what was required of them by the government, according to the statement.

Its investment surpassed the $50 million required during the original agreement signed in 1997, but also the $1 billion required in an addendum to the contract signed in 2005, PPC said.

PPC paid $668 million during the concession, it said.

The deal with PPC and the Panamanian government was renewed in 2021.

The Panamanian Attorney-General's Office said the port contract was unconstitutional. The Central American country's Supreme Court will have the final word on the matter, according to a Reuters report Monday.

The audit, begun in January, could be a hurdle to the transaction between CK Hutchison and a Blackrock-led consortium, Reuters said, citing experts.