Frankfurt (Reuters) - The controversial entry of the Chinese state shipping company Cosco into the Tollerort container terminal in the Port of Hamburg is moving closer.

In talks between the Hamburg port logistics group HHLA, the Federal Ministry of Economics and the Cosco subsidiary CSPL, concrete conditions for the investment have been agreed, HHLA announced on Friday. The final details still need to be clarified, but the transaction should be finalized "soon". HHLA did not provide any details and has agreed not to disclose the contractual content.

The decision was preceded by a conflict between the Chancellery and a number of ministries, which had spoken out in favor of a complete ban. The government resolved the conflict in two steps. Firstly, the operating company for the Tollerort terminal, the smallest of four container terminals in the Port of Hamburg, was not classified as critical infrastructure. This raised the threshold for a permit requirement under the Foreign Trade and Payments Act from ten to 25 percent. As only 24.9 percent has now been permitted, at least this entry is no longer subject to approval. The ministries were therefore no longer able to raise an objection, but a number of them are said to have endorsed the Foreign Office's protocol note.

(By Hans Seidenstücker, edited by Kerstin Dörr If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets)