Federal government is examining the prevention of the sale of Konrad Zippel to Cosco

According to a media report, the federal government is considering preventing the sale of the Hamburg freight forwarder Konrad Zippel to the Chinese state-owned company Cosco. A secret government document mentions “significant security concerns,” reports the Handelsblatt. There is a risk of strategic dependencies that “could be used as a means of pressure in the event of political upheaval,” it continued. The Handelsblatt writes that a final decision has not yet been made about banning sales. But it comes down to that.

The world's fourth largest container shipping company Cosco wants to take over an 80 percent stake in Konrad Zippel. According to the newspaper report, the Federal Ministry of Economics, the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Federal Ministry of the Interior as well as the Foreign and Defense Ministries spoke out in favor of banning the business.

"The acquisition would strengthen China's strategic influence on Germany and the European transport infrastructure," Handelsblatt quotes the government document as saying. Despite small market shares, Konrad Zippel is an established player with decades of market knowledge: "This information is very interesting for Cosco and for China." According to reports, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution had also warned against the deal, as had the EU Commission.

The Federal Ministry of Economics initially did not want to comment, Konrad Zippel left a question from the Handelsblatt unanswered.

Cosco has a stake of almost 25 percent in the Hamburg Tollerort container terminal of the port operator HHLA. ‌The federal government only approved the Chinese entry in May 2023 after a long struggle.

This article will continue to be updated.