After two years of negotiations
Cosco deal signed in the port of Hamburg
6/19/2023, 4:54 p.m
Negotiations between HHLA and the Chinese state-owned company Cosco began two years ago – the shipping company wants to take over 35 percent of a Hamburg port terminal. Now the deal is signed. However, with a lower participation than originally hoped for by the Chinese.
The controversial entry of the Chinese state-owned company Cosco at a Hamburg container terminal is about two years after the start of negotiations. “Following the conclusion of the investment review process, Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) and COSCO Shipping Ports Limited (CSPL) today signed the contracts for CSPL’s minority shareholding in Container Terminal Tollerort (CTT),” announced HHLA. The Cosco subsidiary CSPL thus holds a 24.99 percent stake in the container terminal in Tollerort. The terminal will thus become a preferred Cosco transhipment point where cargo flows between Asia and Europe are to be concentrated.
HHLA, Germany’s largest port group, is convinced that the cooperation will strengthen Hamburg’s position as a logistics hub in the North and Baltic Sea regions as well as the industrial nation of Germany. Cosco and HHLA have been working together for more than 40 years. Cosco and HHLA began talks about an investment in June 2021.
Cosco originally wanted to take over 35 percent of the CTT operating company. However, several federal ministries had protested against this, so that in October last year the cabinet set the quota at under 25 percent in order to prevent Cosco from becoming a blocking minority, which would have allowed the Chinese to have greater influence.
Throughout the entire process, HHLA repeatedly emphasized that the operational management of the terminal, all customer relationships and also the IT systems were managed centrally by the Group. Cosco does not get access to it and does not get any decision-making rights. This also applies to the land of the terminal, which continues to belong entirely to the city of Hamburg. According to HHLA, China is the largest trading partner of Germany and the Port of Hamburg. Around 30 percent of the goods handled in the Port of Hamburg come from or go to China. Around 1.35 million jobs in Germany depend on the ports.