Germany may allow China’s COSCO Shipping Port Limited to take a smaller stake than originally planned in the Port of Hamburg’s Container Terminal Tollerort (CCT), according to Reuters.
COSCO made a bid last year to take a 35% stake in the terminal, one of three terminals operated by Hamburg Hafun und Logistik AG (HHLA), but the German coalition has been divided on whether to proceed with the deal.
The compromise would see Berlin approving a sale of 24.9% of the terminal to COSCO, Reuters sources have claimed.
Germany’s economy and foreign ministries still wanted to block the deal entirely but were unlikely to succeed, according to the sources.
One source, as quoted on Reuters, said: “The federal government departments see a limit to a 24.9% as an ‘emergency solution’ to prevent worse things from happening.”
The source added that a smaller stake would give COSCO less say in running the terminal.
Amidst the concern for the planned cooperation between HHLA and COSCO, the German terminal operator published a statement to its website on October 20, stating that “Port of Hamburg will not be sold to China”.
The statement notes that HHLA is still in the ongoing process of obtaining the necessary investment law approval and that the company was not aware of any rejection by six federal ministries.
HHLA claimed that it was incorrect to say that the EU has objected to the cooperation and that the cartel law approval was granted by the responsible authorities.
A spokesman for HHLA said: “As part of the planned partnership, COSCO will not acquire any shares of the Port of Hamburg.
“The investment applies to a maximum 35% of the shares of the HHLA subsidiary CTT.”
As part of the necessary investment screening procedure, Germany’s Federal Government is investigating whether the shareholding might pose a risk to the security of the country.
The spokesperson for HHLA noted that, in the company’s view, this is not the case as COSCO is not gaining access to the Port of Hamburg or HHLA with the transaction only concerning a minority stake in CTT.
Additionally, the spokesperson noted that CTT is ultimately an operating subsidiary and that HHLA will retain sole control over all significant decisions.
COSCO also has no exclusive rights at CTT and the terminal will remain open to container volumes from all customers.
“The cooperation between HHLA and COSCO does not create any one-sided dependencies,” the statement noted. “On the contrary: it strengthens supply chains, secures jobs and promotes value creation in Germany.”
