Berlin appears to okay loan guarantees to Hapag-Lloyd

THE German government has said - but not officially - that it will provide EUR1.2 billion (US$1.8 billion) in loan guarantees to cover bank loans needed by Hapag-Lloyd to stay afloat in the economic downturn.

A spokesman for the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology told International Freighting Weekly the "deal was as good as done", but he could not officially confirm it until the guarantees had been signed," it said, attributing the delay to the budget committee's request for extra information.

"Technically it's all done, but we cannot confirm it officially," the unnamed spokesman said.

Robin Zimmermann of international leisure travel group TUI, which holds a 43 per cent of the Hamburg carrier, said it had not yet been officially notified of any decision from Berlin concerning the loan guarantees.

"The only thing we know is that there are rumours the guarantees have been approved, but so far no one is either willing or able to confirm this from within the government," he was quoted as saying.

"There have been some issues with the budget committee in the federal parliament, but as far as I know, they have now been solved," he added.

The report added that the budget committee is believed to have requested additional information on how Hapag-Lloyd and TUI plan to use the state aid, and "whether there would be a salary cap for company executives."

Source: www.schednet.com