Germany may allow Cosco to buy smaller stake in Hamburg port terminal – sources
#Germany’s ruling coalition may allow China’s #Cosco to take a smaller stake in a Hamburg port terminal than originally planned, government sources told Reuters, in a compromise to allow the deal to go ahead.
Shipping giant Cosco last year made a bid to take a 35% stake in one of logistics firm HHLA’s three terminals in Germany’s largest port in Hamburg, but the German coalition has been divided over whether to approve the deal.
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The compromise being discussed would see Berlin approving a sale of 24.9% of the terminal to Cosco, though sources said Germany’s economy and foreign ministries were advising against the deal, even with the amended terms.
How the #coalition handles the matter is seen as a gauge of how far Germany is willing to toughen its stance on China, its top trading partner, due to concerns about being overly dependent on the increasingly assertive authoritarian country.
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The sources said negotiations had not yet been finalised. The news comes a week before German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is due to travel to China.
Table Media’s China.Table had reported on Monday that Cosco might agree to a deal for a smaller stake, citing sources close to the negotiations.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Andreas Rinke and Alexander Ratz; Writing by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Miranda Murray and Mark Potter)
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