Djibouti has rejected a U.K. court ruling to hand back control of a container terminal to global port operator DP World, after taking it over two years ago and allowing a Chinese state entity to build a separate terminal for the growing African market. It was the court’s fifth order in favor of DP World since Djibouti nationalized the facility in January, 2018. “We encourage all parties to abide by the court’s ruling,” a DP World spokesman said. DP World has separately sued China Merchants for breach of exclusivity in moving containers in and out of Djibouti. China Merchants executives say their own terminal, which includes a China-backed $3.5 billion free trade zone, is legal under a separate deal with Djibouti.

Source: Wall Street Journal January 17, 2020 21:33 UTC