Chinese investors in negotiations over Cargolux stake

Investors could be close to a deal to purchase the Luxembourg government's share in Cargolux, it has emerged following a delegation from Chinese group HNCA to Luxembourg.

The group of investors was highlighted as one of the potential candidates to buy the government's stake in Cargolux. A press release from the Infrastructure Ministry confirmed that HNCA is in close discussions with the Luxembourg state.

“Negotiations on the commercial aspects of a potential transaction are continuing. A final decision on the new partner Cargolux decision is still planned before the end of 2013,” it said.

The visitors from Henan Province arrived met with Infrastructure Minister Claude Wiseler on Monday to discuss a dual hub strategy, with Luxembourg operating as a European logistics hub and working concurrently with a Chinese logistics hub in Zhengzhou.

Vice Governor of Henan Province Jiancai Zhao said that his goal was to “develop, together with Cargolux, a strong growth strategy to create new economic opportunities for airports of Luxembourg and Zhengzou.”

The visit comes after Minster Wiseler travelled to China in May. This time the delegation made an extensive tour of the airport, including Luxair SA Cargocenter, the service center and Cargolux SA's headquarters.

Henan Province is located in east-central China and has a population of over 100 million people with an area greater than about 167 000 km2. Zhengzhou is a city of over 8 million people and the capital of Henan Province and was appointed in March 2013 by the Central Government in Beijing as the first experimental economic zone in the airport economy.

The Luxembourg government recently purchased a 35 percent stake in the air freight firm for 117.5 million USD following a decision to sell by Qatar Airways.