Despite strong doubts that he would get the needed permissions to complete, Pang Yuliang, an entrepreneur from Central China’s Henan Province and chairman of LinkGlobal Logistics, has said he will definitely acquire Parchim Airport in northern Germany at a cost of RMB1 billion ($130 million) on July 5.

This makes him the first person in China to buy a major European airport through his company or, indeed, in any other way. He declined to reveal any detail about the purchasing fund source, but said he had submitted an application to the Ministry of Commerce for the acquisition and he implied that such permission was forthcoming.

Pang beat ten other global competitors, including FedEx, Hamburg Airport and Emirates Airline, in an international tender. According to the deal, LinkGlobal has 100% property rights to Parchim Airport located in Schwerin, near Hamburg, and its facilities, as well as permanent ownership of land in an economic cooperation zone affiliated to the airport.

This makes a big difference to LinkGlobal which is his company. It has a network covering more than 200 cities in China and about 90 countries worldwide but now it has an European base from which it can expand much further.

The governments of Henan Province and Zhengzhou City as well as the authority of Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport have signed an agreement with Pang’s company to set up a Zhengzhou-based aviation logistics company.

The company will operate a cargo transport business between China and Germany, and Pang’s company will hold a majority stake. It look very much as is LinkGlobal will be fighting it out with the major international carriers on their own territory.
Source: China Daily

In late May, LinkGlobal Logistics bought Parchim Airport in Germany and this appeared extremely unusual and, looked at another way, the opening of a new investment chapter in Chinese aviation history.

Chairman of LinkGlobal Logistics Pang Yuliang, the main player, reported the deal for this airport, which has an annual capacity of 180,000 flights and can handle all kinds of civil aircraft.

It did not happen. The Ministry of Commerce has halted the transaction because the deal hasn’t been filed with relevant authorities which prevents LinkGlobal from completing the financial part of the deal.

Pang Yuliang is not making any comment. In China his logistics business currently covers more than 800 cities and extends to some 90 countries worldwide.

When the transaction to buy Parchim Airport was announced, Pang Yuliang said: ‘There will be no need for my fellow-villagers heading towards Germany to transfer in Beijing or Shanghai once a charter flight is organized.’

Pang moved his global logistics business from Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen to Zhengzhou, and invested RMB300 million ($39.2 million) in 2006 to set up an international logistics center. It provides global sea port, airport logistics, global express, bonded processing, and international trade services.

A banner in front of Pang’s company reads: ‘If you only have a hammer, you always see problems as nails.’

How that applies to the current problem with Parchim Airport is an interesting thought.
Source: China Daily

This is an odd story. LinkGlobal Logistics, a private logistics services provider based in Beijing, has completed an agreement to buy a 100% stake in Germany’s Schwerin-Parchim Airport.

The Zhenzhou Daily, based in the capital city of the central province of Henan, quoted LinkGlobal Logistics founder and chairman Pang Yuliang as saying that the company will pay about RMB1 billion for the airport in Schwerin, which is located between Hamburg and Berlin.

According to the report the logistics firm bought the airport in an auction held earlier this month and won permanent rights to operate it.

LinkGlobal Logistics is now seeking an airport management firm to manage Schwerin-Parchim and expects carriers calling at the airport to include flights from China.

It is said to be the first time a Chinese company has wholly owned a European airport.

Pang Yuliang, chairman of the board of LinkGlobal Logistics, outbid ten other global competitors, including FedEx, Hamburg Airport, and Emirates Airline, in an international tender.

Pang Yuliang told Economic Daily News: ‘China’s vast logistics market has attracted Germany which expects to boost its economy through cooperation with Chinese enterprises.

‘The demand of Chinese enterprises for logistic services to Europe is also huge. If we have our own airport in Europe, transport costs will be reduced greatly.’

The purchase will help Pang Yuliang further expand the logistics network of LinkGlobal, a Beijing-based company. It has a network covering more than 200 cities in China and about 90 countries worldwide.

How will Pang Yuliang pay the RMB1 billion? He told Economic Daily News that a Nigerian bank will vouch for his company, and no domestic banks are involved.
Source: People’s Daily Online