A Chinese investor's acquisition of a German airport hits a stumbling block after the transaction did not get approval from Ministry of Commerce, reported the China Economic Weekly on Monday.

The deal grabbed headlines in late May, when LinkGlobal Logistics bought Parchim Airport in Germany and was hailed as an unprecedented transaction that opened a new investment chapter in Chinese aviation history.

Chairman of LinkGlobal Logistics Pang Yuliang, the main player, was in the media spotlight after beating out 10 other global competitors for this airport, which has an annual capacity of 180,000 flights and can handle all kinds of civil aircrafts.

But now, 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.

When the media tried to contact Pang about the setback, he refused to comment.

Brought up in the poverty-stricken Shangcai County, Central China's Henan Province, Pang's logistics business currently covers more than 800 cities in mainland China and some 90 countries worldwide.

When the transaction to buy Parchim Airport was announced, Pang 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."

At the time, he is already in negotiations with aviation officials to link Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province to Parchim Airport.

Pang diverted his global logistics business from Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen to Zhengzhou, and invested 300 million yuan (US$39.2 million) in 2006 to set up an international logistics center that 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", perhaps Pang has already got a hammer to pound the pending issue.

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