THE German government has agreed to allow Chinese shipping conglomerate Cosco to take a stake in the country's biggest seaport, a decision that has divided lawmakers and drawn criticism from the EU, reports London's Financial Times.
Cosco Shipping Ports will be permitted to acquire up to 25 per cent of the Tollerort container facility - one of several terminals that comprise the Port of Hamburg - the federal government has announced.
The deal is a compromise. Cosco originally planned to acquire 35 per cent of the terminal, for EUR65 million (US$67.7 million) from local logistics giant HHLA.
The acquisition comes at a sensitive time for relations between Berlin and Beijing: Russia's war in Ukraine, in particular, has given impetus to critics of Germany's economic ties to potential geopolitical rivals.
China is Germany's largest trading partner, and German chancellor Olaf Scholz will travel to China in his first official trip to Beijing, taking a business delegation with him.
The economy ministry said: 'The company is already the port's largest customer. Any further acquisition above [the 25 per cent] threshold is prohibited. This prevents a strategic participation in [Tollerort] and reduces the acquisition to a purely financial participation.'
Cosco Shipping Ports is a Hong Kong-listed subsidiary of the state-owned company China Cosco Shipping Corporation, whose subsidiaries also provide support to China's navy.
In Europe, Chinese companies hold shares in about a dozen ports, including Le Havre and Dunkirk in France, Antwerp and Bruges in Belgium as well as in Spain, Italy, Turkey and Greece.
SeaNews Turkey
Cosco Shipping Ports will be permitted to acquire up to 25 per cent of the Tollerort container facility - one of several terminals that comprise the Port of Hamburg - the federal government has announced.
The deal is a compromise. Cosco originally planned to acquire 35 per cent of the terminal, for EUR65 million (US$67.7 million) from local logistics giant HHLA.
The acquisition comes at a sensitive time for relations between Berlin and Beijing: Russia's war in Ukraine, in particular, has given impetus to critics of Germany's economic ties to potential geopolitical rivals.
China is Germany's largest trading partner, and German chancellor Olaf Scholz will travel to China in his first official trip to Beijing, taking a business delegation with him.
The economy ministry said: 'The company is already the port's largest customer. Any further acquisition above [the 25 per cent] threshold is prohibited. This prevents a strategic participation in [Tollerort] and reduces the acquisition to a purely financial participation.'
Cosco Shipping Ports is a Hong Kong-listed subsidiary of the state-owned company China Cosco Shipping Corporation, whose subsidiaries also provide support to China's navy.
In Europe, Chinese companies hold shares in about a dozen ports, including Le Havre and Dunkirk in France, Antwerp and Bruges in Belgium as well as in Spain, Italy, Turkey and Greece.
SeaNews Turkey
