The sale of loss-making German airport Frankfurt-Hahn to a Chinese investor appears close to collapse, the airport's local government owner said on Wednesday, after the buyer failed to make an initial payment last week.

"Talks in Shanghai seem to point towards a collapse of the sale to (China's) SYT," said Roger Lewentz, the interior minister for the federal state of Rhineland Palatinate, which is the airport's main owner.

The owners of Hahn, a former military base now used mainly by budget airline Ryanair, had planned to sell an 82.5% stake to China's Shanghai Yiqian Trading Company (SYT).

However, Rhineland Palatinate said the company failed to make an initial payment last week, blaming a lack of Chinese regulatory approval for the money transfer.

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