Port of Hamburg "not to be sold to China"
In view of current media reports on the planned cooperation between Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) and the Chinese company Cosco Shipping Port Limited (CSPL), a HHLA spokesman stated recently that “HHLA is still in the ongoing process of obtaining the necessary investment law approval. HHLA is not aware of any rejection by six federal ministries. It is incorrect to say that the EU has objected to the cooperation. The cartel law approval was granted by the relevant authorities. In the proceedings, which have now been ongoing for over a year, HHLA received no objective reasons that would indicate that the investment should not be approved.”
Against this background, HHLA clarifies once again that “CSPL will not acquire any shares in the port of Hamburg as part of the planned partnership. The investment applies to a maximum of 35% of the shares of the HHLA subsidiary Container Terminal Tollerort GmbH (CTT). As part of the necessary investment screening procedure, the German government is investigating whether the shareholding might pose a risk to the security of the country. In HHLA's view, this is not the case.”
UPDATE 25 October:
According to media reports, Cosco will now be allowed to participate in a container terminal in Hamburg after all - just with a smaller share. The six federal ministries, which had previously rejected the deal, have now agreed on a compromise. Accordingly, Cosco will not be able to take over 35% of the Tollerort terminal as planned, but only 24.9%. Negotiations have not yet been fully concluded, but this is most likely outcome, the reports said. (ah)