Germany Approves COSCO Stake in Hamburg Port Terminal

May 10 (Reuters) – Port logistics firm HHLA said on Wednesday the German government has cleared the purchase by China’s Cosco of a 24.9% stake in a container terminal in the sea port of Hamburg, amid a political row over Chinese investment in the German economy.

A spokesperson for the German government said in a statement that Berlin had informed HHLA and Cosco that their reworked deal was compliant with a cabinet decision in the fall of last year that limits the ownership of Chinese state firm Cosco in the terminal to less than 25%.

The deal was also in line with Berlin declaring the terminal, known as Tollerort, as critical infrastructure this year, the statement added.

The clearance comes even after German economy ministry said last month that it was reviewing a decision to allow Cosco to take the stake.

China’s foreign ministry at the time urged Germany to be “objective and rational” in its review.

(Reporting by Nilutpal Timsina in Bengaluru and Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt; Editing by Aurora Ellis)

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