Update: 12.05.2023

After what was described as “intensive, constructive talks,” the German government decided to approve the investment of China’s COSCO Shipping Ports Limited (CSPL) in Hamburg’s Container Terminal Tollerort (CTT). As announced earlier this year, CSPL will acquire a minority share of 24.9%.

Port operator Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) highlighted that it welcomes the government’s decision, adding that “all issues within the scope of the investment screening process were clarified jointly in intensive, constructive talks.”

The investment will “enable CTT to be expanded into a preferred handling location for HHLA’s long-standing customer COSCO, where freight flows between Asia and Europe will concentrate,” revealed HLLA. The operator noted the transaction between the port and CSPL would be finalised soon.

HLLA’s press release stressed that China has been Germany’s largest trading partner. “Around 30% of the goods handled in the Port of Hamburg come from China or go to China,” according to HLLA.

Original article: 13.04.2023

Container Terminal Tollerort (CTT) at Hamburg Port was classified as “critical infrastructure” early this year, a move that brought COSCO’s plans to acquire a share of the terminal under scrutiny once again.

In October 2022, the German government approved the shipping group’s acquisition of a 24.9% stake after several months of assessment and deliberations. However, the new status calls for reassessing the potential sale, said Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs.

As COSCO is an enterprise owned by the Chinese state, a number of government officials have warned that the acquisition deal could give China a percentage of control over one of the country’s essential assets. In the meantime, the Port of Hamburg had assured the public that the terminal would remain independent.

“Neither CTT, nor (Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG) HHLA, nor the Port of Hamburg will be sold to China. HHLA will remain an independent, listed company with the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg as its most important shareholder,” wrote Hamburg Port in a statement issued in October 2022.

The re-evaluation of the deal sparked criticism among industry experts. Speaking to the German shipping newspaper DVZ, Alexander Geisler, Managing Director of the Association of Hamburg and Bremen Shipbrokers, said, "The federal government's approach seems somewhat arbitrary."

"No company is being taken over completely, but a customer is planning a minority stake in order to optimize its logistical processes at the site," he explained.

A government spokesperson said the stance of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the issue “had not changed,” according to a report by Reuters. Nevertheless, “China's foreign ministry urged Germany to be objective and rational in its review,” added the report.