Shanghai port group looking to invest in German ports

Chen Xuyuan, chairman of SIPG, was quoted during a port conference in Hamburg that close cooperation between SIPG and the European ports of Hamburg and Bremen would be lucrative for all parties involved.

SIPG already has a 25-year franchise in Haifa, Israel, and joined the construction of Belgium’s Zeebrugge port, the country’s second largest port after Antwerp.

In China, SIPG is exclusive operator of the port of Shanghai, which is currently the world’s busiest container port with throughput of 35.29m teu in 2014.

SIPG is not alone among Chinese companies seeking investment opportunities in overseas port. In May this year, China Ocean Shipping Group (Cosco) was shortlisted as one of three bidders for a 51% stake in Greece’s Piraeus port, with the binding bids due by September.