HAMBURG (dpa-AFX) - At the second expert hearing on the controversial acquisition of the world's largest shipping company MSC by the Hamburg port logistics company HHLA, some experts have expressed considerable doubts about the deal planned by the Red-Green Senate. The Managing Director of HSP Hamburg Invest GmbH, Joachim Seeler, said after viewing further confidential documents at a joint meeting of the Committee for Public Enterprises and the Economic Committee on Tuesday: "The impression remains that Hamburg is effectively giving up control of HHLA with this transaction."

The committees wanted to make their recommendation for further action on Tuesday, whereby members of the red-green government coalition had already announced at the beginning of the meeting that they would approve the transaction. The budget committee in charge of the matter is expected to make its recommendation on June 11, so that the Hamburg Parliament could make a decision before the parliament's summer break as planned./klm/DP/he