DUBAI:

Dubai-based port operator DP World says it will buy a 71.3 percent stake in Chile’s Puertos y Logistica SA, a port services firm in the South American nation.

Sunday’s announcement says DP World would pay $502 million for the stake in the port operator, which has a long-term concession for Puerto Central in San Antonio and owns and operates Puerto Lirquen in Chile’s southern region.

The statement quoted DP World Group chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem as saying the deal allows his firm now to serve customers at five key points in South America.

DP World, one of the world’s largest port operators, works across six continents. Its majority shareholder is the government-owned Dubai World investment company. (AP)