Two years after the start of negotiations, the Chinese state-owned company Cosco’s controversial entry into a Hamburg container terminal has been sealed. After completing the investment appraisal process, the port company HHLA and Cosco signed the contracts for a minority stake in the Tollerort terminal. A Cosco subsidiary is taking a 24.99 percent stake, according to a statement. The terminal will become a preferred transhipment point for Cosco. HHLA was convinced that the cooperation would strengthen Hamburg’s position as a logistics hub in the North and Baltic Sea regions as well as the industrial nation of Germany.
Cosco originally wanted to take over 35 percent of the terminal operating company. However, several federal ministries had protested against this, so the cabinet set the quota at under 25 percent in October in order to prevent Cosco from becoming a blocking minority.
China is the largest trading partner of Germany and the Port of Hamburg. Around 30 percent of the goods that are handled in the port of Hamburg come from or go to China.