Fraport invests in China
Fraport AG, operator of Frankfurt airport, Europe’s biggest air cargo hub, has acquired a 24.5-percent stake in China’s X’ian airport.
Fraport Chairman Wilhelm Bender said the 50-million euro (USD67-million) investment was a “first step” toward further acquisitions in China, the world’s fastest-growing freight and express market.
It follows Fraport’s move into another Asian growth market, India, where it recently signed an agreement to modernize New Delhi’s airport.
State-owned China West Airport Group, the previous operator of X’ian, will continue to hold the majority of shares in the airport, which is situated in Shaanxi province in central China. Fraport expects to obtain approval from the Chinese government and complete the transaction by the third quarter of this year.
Fraport said it will take part in the commercial development of X’ian, including the construction of a second runway and extension of its terminal.
The X’ian acquisition vaults Fraport ahead of its main European cargo rivals, Paris, Amsterdam and BAA, owner of London Heathrow, which don’t yet have a presence in China.
Fraport also operates several airports in Germany, including Frankfurt Hahn, an all-cargo hub, as well as overseas, in Bulgaria, Turkey, Peru and Egypt.
The deal follows earlier moves into China by Fraport’s biggest customer and third-largest shareholder, Lufthansa, whose freight unit, Lufthansa Cargo, has established cargo joint ventures at Shenzhen International and Shanghai Pudong airports. DHL, another leading customer at Frankfurt airport, also flies to X’ian as part of its recently-established Chinese domestic air freight service.
