The planned entry of the Chinese state-owned company Cosco at a Hamburg container terminal could be checked again. A spokeswoman for Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) said on Wednesday in Hamburg that the Tollerort (CTT) terminal is now registered as a critical infrastructure. From the company’s point of view, however, the registration does not mean any significant change for HHLA.
“Because the HHLA Group has been classified as a critical infrastructure since 2018 and has positioned itself accordingly. Since then, the company has fully fulfilled the associated obligations for the security of the IT infrastructure,” added the spokeswoman.
The “Süddeutsche Zeitung” had previously reported after joint research with NDR and WDR that the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) had meanwhile classified the Tollerort terminal as critical infrastructure and therefore as particularly worthy of protection. This could once again call into question the Chinese participation.
Political dispute over Chinese participation
It was initially unclear whether this was actually the case. A spokeswoman for Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) said on Wednesday in Berlin that since the conditions had changed, the ministry was examining the effects on the situation. The BSI and the Federal Ministry of the Interior did not want to comment on request.
Cosco originally wanted to take over 35 percent of the operating company of Container Terminal Tollerort GmbH and, in return, upgrade the terminal to become the preferred transshipment point in Europe. However, a fierce political dispute broke out in the federal government over the question of whether Chinese participation should be allowed. Last October, the cabinet decided on a so-called partial ban, which only allows the acquisition of less than 25 percent of Cosco shares. Any further acquisition above this threshold was prohibited.
According to the company, the operations of the terminal, all customer relationships and also the IT systems are managed centrally by the HHLA Group. As an operating company, the CTT is a user of the HHLA Group’s own IT, it said. “Cosco Shipping Ports Limited (CSPL) would accordingly have no access and no decision-making rights here – just as little with regard to the land and soil of the terminal,” said the spokeswoman.
Corrected classification
According to the media report, the corrected classification does not mean that the business is now automatically prohibited. According to the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance, the classification as critical infrastructure gives the Federal Ministry of Economics more opportunities to prohibit a takeover by companies from non-EU countries during an investment review.
The Federal Ministry of the Interior decides what counts as so-called critical infrastructure. The question of whether an investment by companies from non-EU countries in certain facilities is approved or not is submitted to the Federal Ministry of Economics. The cabinet is expected to pass a “Kritis umbrella law” for better protection of critical infrastructure before the fall.
