Singapore:
The Court of Appeal of Singapore today ruled in Maldives' favour in the South Asian island nation's move to cancel a $511 million airport development contract with GMR Infrastructure, clearing the way for it to take over the airport.
The ruling comes after an order by the Singapore High Court won on Monday by GMR that had suspended the government's decision to cancel the contract, although the Maldives had still been pressing ahead with plans to take over the airport.
"The Maldives government has the power to do what it wants, including expropriating the airport," Sundaresh Menon, the Chief Justice of Singapore, said in court.
Shares in GMR were down about 3.5 per cent following the ruling after earlier being in positive territory on the day.
A GMR spokesman declined immediate comment.
"We don't see any hiccups now. There won't be any problem. They will hand over to us by December 7. All senior managers and consultants are working on that now," a Maldives government official told Reuters, declining to be named.
The standoff over the project threatens to cloud foreign investor sentiment towards Maldives, which is seeking overseas cash for many of its tourism projects. The country terminated an agreement with GMR last week, rattling its relations with India.
© Thomson Reuters 2012