Netanyahu: Sale of Zim to Qatar-Saudi-Linked Company "Not Even on the Table"

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today (Sunday) at the cabinet meeting that there will be no deal to sell Zim to a company with Qatari-Saudi ownership. The remarks were reported by Israel Hayom.

The prime minister made the comments in response to Deputy Minister Almog Cohen, who argued that carrying out the deal would be "a strategic danger. It would be a disaster to hand them the key to Israel’s maritime gateway."

Netanyahu stressed: "It is not even on the table." Defense Minister Israel Katz also made clear that the Defense Ministry and the broader security establishment oppose the deal, which would ultimately transfer partial ownership to Saudi and Qatari interests, adding: "It is not on the table. We have a golden share in the company, and if necessary, we will use the authority granted to us by law."

As previously reported, in February it was reported that the Israeli shipping company Zim would be sold to the German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd and the Israeli Fimi Fund in a deal valued at about $3.7 billion. It should be noted that the German company is partly owned by the Qatar Investment Authority, as well as by the Saudi wealth fund.

Under the proposed deal, the German company would purchase Zim’s international operations, while Fimi would acquire its Israeli operations, in which the state would retain a golden share. The share is intended to ensure the economy’s ability to rely on the company’s services in times of emergency. This arrangement is similar to the existing mechanism with El Al and grants the state special rights over substantive issues tied to the national interest.

Hapag-Lloyd is considered one of the largest shipping companies in the world. Its shareholders include the Qatar Investment Authority, which holds about 12.3% of the company’s shares, as well as the Saudi wealth fund, which holds about 10.2% of the shares.