Panama Strikes Down Hong Kong Tycoon Li's Port Deals, Rattling Investors

Panama’s top court has ruled that the contract granted to Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. to operate two ports near the Panama canal is unconstitutional, injecting fresh uncertainty into the Hong Kong conglomerate’s long-running effort to sell off the facilities.

The ruling, announced by the court late Thursday in a short post on Instagram, rattled investors. CK Hutchison’s shares fell as much as 5.5% in Hong Kong trading Friday, heading for their steepest drop since April.