© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The ‘Cosco Shipping Gemini’ cargo ship of Chinese shipping company ‘Cosco’ is loaded at the ‘Tollerort’ container terminal in the port of Hamburg, Germany, October 25, 2022. REUTERS/Fabian Bemmer
(Reuters) – COSCO SHIPPING Ports Ltd shares rose to a three-month high on Thursday, after the German government agreed to buy part of a container terminal in Hamburg, amid a political row over Chinese investment.
The Hong Kong-listed subsidiary of state-owned Chinese conglomerate China COSCO SHIPPING Corporation Limited rose as much as 2.4% to HK$6.03 ($0.77), with share prices climbing to the highest level since February 2. The end of the morning trading session, the sixth largest increase among the Composite Index on industrial stocks.
Port logistics company HHLA said on Wednesday that the German government has agreed to COSCO SHIPPING Ports’ purchase of a 24.9% stake in the Tollerort container terminal.
A German government spokesperson said in a statement that Berlin has told HHLA and Cosco that their redrafted agreement is consistent with a cabinet decision in fall 2022 that limits China’s Cosco ownership in the terminal to less than 25%.
The statement added that the deal is also in line with the Berlin Declaration on Critical Infrastructure for Tolerort this year.
Germany’s economy ministry said last month 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.
($1 = 7.8489 Hong Kong dollars)