Source:Tradewinds

Struggling container line Hapag-Lloyd has finally won German government backing for a EUR 1.2bn ($1.75bn) package of loan guarantees.

The federal aid was approved on Friday afternoon by a panel of government officials led by the Berlin-based economy ministry.

The deal will be formally signed on 5 October after the government answers the remaining questions on the package posed by the parliament's budget committee.

Committee members were concerned about how the loss-making line would use taxpayers' money.

They had suggested tying the aid to caps on executive pay and dividends at major Hapag shareholders like TUI.

Hapag's owners, including the city of Hamburg and logistics tycoon Klaus-Michael Kuehne, have already agreed to provide EUR 1.86bn to prop up the owner.