According to One Shipping: Recently, COSCO Shipping Port Co., Ltd. announced that it would extend the completion date of the acquisition of the German Hamburg container terminal interest to December 31.
COSCO Shipping Port Co., Ltd. said it announced that Guolong, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, had acquired the interests of the target company operating a Tollerort container terminal in Hamburg Port, Germany. At the date of the announcement, certain delivery conditions have not yet been met. The Company, Guolong and HHLA wish to continue their efforts to meet the delivery conditions and complete the transaction, and accordingly Guolong and HHLA agree to extend the final completion date to 1231, 2022.
Tollerort Container Terminal is one of three container terminals Hamburger Hafen und Lagerhausgesellschaft (HHLA), in which the local government in Hamburg owns a majority stake. On September 21, 2021, COSCO Shipping Port announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary had acquired a 35% stake in the German Port of Hamburg Tollerort Container Terminal for 65 million euros.
HHLA and the mayor of Hamburg have previously approved the acquisition of COSCO Shipping Port. However, opposition in German politics last month cast a shadow over the completion of the deal.
According to an earlier report by Reuters, the German government is divided on COSCO Shipping Group's acquisition of a 35% stake in the Hamburg Port CTT terminal. It does not want the terminal and other infrastructure to increase its dependence on China. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in an interview that he was inclined to oppose the deal.
to this, Hamburg Port officials warned that blocking the acquisition was a "disaster" and would damage the German economy. Axel Mattern, marketing director of Hamburg Port, stressed that its opposition to the veto plan. China's investment in Hamburg Port is a great success of the port, not a danger, not only because COSCO Shipping Group will soon become the world's largest shipping company. Rejecting the Chinese to ports and Germany could be a disaster.
Source: One Shipping