Logistics: Federal government stops Chinese takeover at the port of Hamburg

The federal government wants to stop the takeover of the logistics company Zippel by the Chinese state shipping company Cosco.

According to Handelsblatt information, the ban is on the agenda for the Federal Cabinet meeting this Wednesday.

Zippel is a medium-sized transport company with 210 employees and an annual turnover of around 80 million euros. It specializes in container logistics in the hinterland and primarily connects the North Sea ports with the industrial and commercial centers in eastern Germany.

The company has a capacity of 175,000 standard containers per year and therefore does not have a high market share overall. However, Zippel has a share of between 35 and 90 percent of the throughput at the Berlin, Schkopau and Elsterwerda terminals.

And above all: Zippel also plays an important role in logistical support for the Bundeswehr. In the event of a conflict, the logistics to Germany's eastern border are also relevant for the NATO defense alliance, according to government circles.

According to an internal document, this has led to “significant security concerns” in the federal government that would be associated with the sale to Cosco, as Handelsblatt reported last week. There is a risk of strategic dependencies, which “could be used as a means of pressure in the event of political upheavals”.

Chinese state-owned companies have been strategically buying up companies in Europe for several years. The focus is, among other things, on European logistics companies. Concern is growing in Brussels and Berlin that Beijing wants to use such takeovers to gain insights into the supply chains of important companies that are relevant to security, for example when transporting goods to Ukraine.

“The acquisition would strengthen China’s strategic influence on Germany and the European transport infrastructure,” says the secret government document. Despite small market shares, Zippel is an established player with decades of market knowledge: “This information is very interesting for Cosco and for China.”

The Chinese state-owned company Cosco is one of the largest logistics companies in the world and has been trying to expand its market control worldwide for years. The group had already become active at the Port of Hamburg in 2023 and bought shares in the Tollerort container terminal.

At that time there was a dispute over the direction of the then federal government. While the Greens and FDP wanted to ban the deal, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had no concerns. Ultimately, the federal government limited Cosco's stake to 24.9 percent.

In this case, a comprehensive debate ensued about how to deal with Chinese investments in Germany, especially in the area of ​​infrastructure. Experts criticized the fact that the deal was not banned at the time. Now, with Zippel, there will be no reason for criticism from this side.