The federal government has officially confirmed that an investment review is under way for the planned sale of a chip factory by the Dortmund company Elmos to a subsidiary of the Chinese group Sai Microelectronics. The “Handelsblatt” reported on Thursday that the federal government would probably like to allow the takeover.
A spokesman for the responsible ministry of Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (53; Greens) said on Friday in Berlin that the examination of a possible takeover of Elmos Semiconductor by the Swedish company Silex, a subsidiary of the Chinese Sai group, would be “completed in good time”.
At the end of last year, Elmos announced that it wanted to sell its wafer production facility in Dortmund to the Swedish competitor Silex for a total of around 85 million euros. Elmos develops, produces and sells semiconductors primarily for use in cars.
According to reports, the Federal Ministry of Economics is currently examining other planned investments that involve acquisition by Chinese companies or their subsidiaries. Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit (50) said the Federal Chancellery only found out about the planned deal in Dortmund from the media on Thursday. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (64; SPD) will travel next week China.
Dispute about Cosco entry in Hamburg
The Federal Cabinet had decided on Wednesdaythat the Chinese state-owned company Cosco may only acquire a share of less than 25 percent in the container terminal Tollerort in the port of Hamburg – instead of the planned 35 percent. However, many departments were in favor of a complete ban on the business due to safety concerns.
In the course of this it became known that Cosco is giving up its stake in a planned container terminal in the Port of Duisburg. The 30 percent stake held by the Chinese in the investment and operating company for the “Duisburg Gateway Terminal” (DGT) under construction had already been transferred to Duisburg Hafen AG in June, Duisport also announced on Wednesday. It was agreed not to disclose the reasons for the exit.