China's largest shipper, China Cosco Holdings Co., made a binding offer on Tuesday for a majority stake of Greece’s main port of Piraeus, a move that is expected to earn cash-hungry Athens hundreds of millions of euros and turn the Mediterranean port into a logistics hub for Chinese exports to Europe, the Wall Street Journal reported on Jan. 12.

China Cosco is the only bidder for the majority stake of the port. Its bid for a 67 percent stake was some 5 billion yuan or 700 million euros, including around 350 million euros in infrastructure investments over five years.

The political situation in Greece has delayed the privatization process for its largest port, Piraeus. But now the deal is nearly closed.

The Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund, which handles state asset sales of Greece, didn’t disclose the value of the bid, but gave China Cosco a week to submit an improved offer for control of the nation’s largest port.

China Cosco wants to develop the Piraeus port into a logistics center that will transport goods, mostly via rail, to Eastern Europe, said the company's executives and other Chinese officials.

“It’s good news because it strengthens the investment climate in Greece at a difficult time and could generate more investments in rail infrastructure and other ports,” said George Xiradakis, an Athens-based marine business consultant and adviser of China Development Bank, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Two other shortlisted investors—APM Terminals, owned by Danish shipping conglomerate A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, and Philippines-based port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. didn’t make binding bids.