The German industry also in 2007 focuses on internationalization. This is the finding of a current survey called »Investment abroad« conducted by the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK). The figures presented also show that foreign investments do not come at the expense of investment in Germany. Companies taking a stake abroad do at the same invest as much at home as industrial companies not being operative abroad. Furthermore, employment figures of such international companies are above average.
More than 70% of industrial companies, which is slightly more than last year, state strategic reasons for their taking into account foreign investment. Just 30% say that they invest abroad for reasons of economy. The most popular target regions are the EU15 member states which are those countries being members of the EU before the enlargement in the year 2004.
According to the DIHK, worries in the context of internationalization are out of place given that it secures growth and employment in Germany too. Therefore, political interferences such as the planned taxation of the relocation of business units in the course of the corporate tax reform would be counterproductive. The DIHK demands instead to bring about more incentives for companies to use opportunities of globalized markets even more effectively. According to the DIHK it is important to press ahead with globalization given that Germany is a clear winnter of this process.
The survey´s findings are availabe free of charge in PDF format on the internet. 