Germany
1. Openness To, and Restrictions Upon, Foreign Investment
Policies Towards Foreign Direct Investment
The German government and industry actively encourage foreign investment. U.S. investment continues to account for a significant share of Germany’s FDI. The 1956 U.S.-Federal Republic of Germany Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation affords U.S. investors national treatment and provides for the free movement of capital between the United States and Germany. As an OECD member, Germany adheres to the OECD National Treatment Instrument and the OECD Codes of Liberalization of Capital Movements and of Invisible Operations. The Foreign Trade and Payments Act and the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance provide the legal basis for the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy to review acquisitions of domestic companies by foreign buyers, to assess whether these transactions pose a risk to the public order or national security (for example, when the investment pertains to critical infrastructure). For many decades, Germany has experienced significant inbound investment, which is widely recognized as a considerable contributor to Germany’s growth and prosperity. The investment-related challenges facing foreign companies are broadly the same as face domestic firms, e.g high tax rates and labor laws that complicate hiring and dismissals. Germany Trade and Invest (GTAI), the country’s economic development agency, provides extensive information for investors: https://www.gtai.de/gtai-en/invest
Limits on Foreign Control and Right to Private Ownership and Establishment
Under German law, a foreign-owned company registered in the Federal Republic of Germany as a GmbH (limited liability company) or an AG (joint stock company) is treated the same as a German-owned company. There are no special nationality requirements for directors or shareholders.
The provision of employee placement services, such as providing temporary office support, domestic help, or executive search services, requires registration of a business in Germany.
Germany maintains an elaborate mechanism to screen foreign investments based on national security grounds. The legislative basis for the mechanism (the Foreign Trade and Payments Act and Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance) has been amended several times in recent years in an effort to tighten parameters of the screening as technological threats evolve, particularly to address growing investment interest by malevolent actors in both Mittelstand (mid-sized) and blue chip German companies. Amendments to implement the 2019 EU Screening Regulation are in draft or have been announced as of May 2020. In addition, authorities will make “prospective impairment” of public order and security the new trigger for an investment review, in place of the current standard (which requires a de facto threat).
Other Investment Policy Reviews
The World Bank Group’s “Doing Business 2020” and Economist Intelligence Unit both provide additional information on Germany’s investment climate. The American Chamber of Commerce in Germany also publishes results of an annual survey of U.S. investors in Germany (“AmCham Germany Transatlantic Business Barometer”, https://www.amcham.de/publications).
Business Facilitation
Before engaging in commercial activities, companies and business operators must register in public directories, the two most significant of which are the commercial register (Handelsregister) and the trade office register (Gewerberegister).
Applications for registration at the commercial register, which is available under www.handelsregister.de , are electronically filed in publicly certified form through a notary. The commercial register provides information about all relevant relationships between merchants and commercial companies, including names of partners and managing directors, capital stock, liability limitations, and insolvency proceedings. Registration costs vary depending on the size of the company.
Germany Trade and Invest (GTAI), the country’s economic development agency, can assist in the registration processes (https://www.gtai.de/gtai-en/invest/investment-guide/establishing-a-company/business-registration-65532 ) and advises investors, including micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), on how to obtain incentives.
In the EU, MSMEs are defined as follows:
- Micro-enterprises: less than 10 employees and less than €2 million annual turnover or less than €2 million in balance sheet total.
- Small-enterprises: less than 50 employees and less than €10 million annual turnover or less than €10 million in balance sheet total.
- Medium-sized enterprises: less than 250 employees and less than €50 million annual turnover or less than €43 million in balance sheet total.
Outward Investment
Germany’s federal government provides guarantees for investments by Germany-based companies in developing and emerging economies and countries in transition in order to insure them against political risks. In order to receive guarantees, the investment must have adequate legal protection in the host country. The Federal Government does not insure against commercial risks.
8. Responsible Business Conduct
In December 2016, the Federal Government passed the National Action Plan for Business and Human Rights (NAP). The action plan aims to apply the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights for the activities of German companies nationally as well as globally in their value and supply chains. The 2018 coalition agreement for the 19th legislative period between the governing Christian Democratic parties, CDU/CSU, and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) states its commitment to the action plan, including the principles on public procurement. It further states that, if the NAP 2020’s effective and comprehensive review comes to the conclusion that the voluntary due diligence approach of enterprises is insufficient, the government will initiate legislation for an EU-wide regulation. The government is currently reviewing and evaluating the German companies’ voluntary due-diligence efforts to ensure their operations do not impinge upon human rights.
Germany adheres to the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises; the National Contact Point (NCP) is housed in the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy. The NCP is supported by an advisory board composed of several ministries, business organizations, trade unions, and NGOs. This working group usually meets once a year to discuss all Guidelines-related issues. The German NCP can be contacted through the Ministry’s website: https://www.bmwi.de/Redaktion/EN/Textsammlungen/Foreign-Trade/national-contact-point-ncp.html .
There is general awareness of environmental, social, and governance issues among both producers and consumers in Germany, and surveys suggest that consumers increasingly care about the ecological and social impacts of the products they purchase. In order to encourage businesses to factor environmental, social, and governance impacts into their decision-making, the government provides information online and in hard copy. The federal government encourages corporate social responsibility (CSR) through awards and prizes, business fairs, and reports and newsletters. The government also organizes so called “sector dialogues” to connect companies and facilitate the exchange of best practices, and offers practice days to help nationally as well as internationally operating small- and medium-sized companies discern and implement their entrepreneurial due diligence under the NAP. To this end it has created a website on CSR in Germany (http://www.csr-in-deutschland.de/EN/Home/home.html in English). The German government maintains and enforces domestic laws with respect to labor and employment rights, consumer protections, and environmental protections. The German government does not waive labor and environmental laws to attract investment.
On the business side, the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany (AmCham Germany) is active in promoting standards of ecological, economic, and social responsibility and sustainability within their members’ entrepreneurial actions in keeping with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, adopted in 2015. AmCham Germany issues publications on selected member companies’ approaches to CSR. Its Corporate Responsibility Committee serves as a platform to exchange best practices, identify trends, and discuss regulatory initiatives. Other business initiatives, platforms, and networks on sustainable corporate conduct and CSR exist. In addition, Germany’s four leading business organizations regularly provide information on a common CSR internet portal to promote and illustrate companies’ engagement on CSR: www.csrgermany.de.
Social reporting is voluntary, but publicly listed companies frequently include information on their CSR policies in annual shareholder reports and on their websites.
Civil society groups that work on CSR include 3p Consortium for Sustainable Management, Amnesty International Germany, Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland e. V. (BUND), CorA Corporate Accountability – Netzwerk Unternehmensverantwortung, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Germanwatch, Greenpeace Germany, Naturschutzbund Deutschland (NABU), Sneep (Studentisches Netzwerk zu Wirtschafts- und Unternehmensethik), Stiftung Warentest, Südwind – Institut für Ökonomie und Ökumene, TransFair – Verein zur Förderung des Fairen Handels mit der „Dritten Welt“ e. V., Transparency International, Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e.V., Bundesverband Die Verbraucher Initiative e.V., and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF, known as the „World Wildlife Fund“ in the United States).
13. Foreign Direct Investment and Foreign Portfolio Investment Statistics
Host Country Statistical source* | USG or international statistical source | USG or International Source of Data: BEA; IMF; Eurostat; UNCTAD, Other |
|||
Economic Data | Year | Amount | Year | Amount | |
Host Country Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ($M USD) | 2019 | €3,435,800 | 2018 | $3,948,000 | www.worldbank.org/en/country |
Foreign Direct Investment | Host Country Statistical source* | USG or international statistical source | USG or international Source of data: BEA; IMF; Eurostat; UNCTAD, Other |
||
U.S. FDI in partner country ($M USD, stock positions) | 2018 | €81,988 | 2018 | $140,331 | BEA data available at https://www.bea.gov/international/ direct-investment-and-multinational- enterprises-comprehensive-data |
Host country’s FDI in the United States ($M USD, stock positions) | 2018 | €247,508 | 2018 | $324,151 | BEA data available at https://www.bea.gov/international/ direct-investment-and-multinational- enterprises-comprehensive-data |
Total inbound stock of FDI as % host GDP | 2018 | 23.0% | 2018 | 23.5% | UNCTAD data available at https://unctad.org/en/Pages/DIAE/ World%20Investment%20Report/ Country-Fact-Sheets.aspx |
* Source for Host Country Data: Federal Statistical Office DESTATIS, Bundesbank; http://www.bundesbank.de (German Central Bank, 2018 data published in April 2020, only available in €)
Direct Investment from/in Counterpart Economy Data | |||||
From Top Five Sources/To Top Five Destinations (US Dollars, Millions) | |||||
Inward Direct Investment | Outward Direct Investment | ||||
Total Inward | $939,189 | 100% | Total Outward | $$1,643,698 | 100% |
The Netherlands | $178,045 | 19.0% | United States | $299,328 | 18.2% |
Luxembourg | $165,567 | 17.6% | Luxembourg | $185,976 | 11.3% |
United States | $105,714 | 11.3% | The Netherlands | $165,686 | 10.1% |
Switzerland | $88,934 | 9.5% | United Kingdom | $144,224 | 8.8% |
United Kingdom | $64,559 | 6.9% | France | $97,067 | 5.9% |
“0” reflects amounts rounded to +/- USD 500,000. |
Portfolio Investment Assets | ||||||||
Top Five Partners (Millions, current US Dollars) | ||||||||
Total | Equity Securities | Total Debt Securities | ||||||
All Countries | $3,609,694 | 100% | All Countries | $1,304,519 | 100% | All Countries | $2,305,175 | 100% |
Luxembourg | $686,162 | 19.0% | Luxembourg | $564,143 | 43.2% | France | $346,260 | 15.0% |
France | $447,458 | 12.4% | United States | $178,181 | 13.7% | United States | $260,562 | 11.3% |
United States | $438,743 | 12.2% | Ireland | $136,831 | 10.5% | The Netherlands | $255,640 | 11.1% |
The Netherlands | $300,669 | 8.3% | France | $101,198 | 7.8% | United Kingdom | $155,759 | 6.8% |
Ireland | $205,964 | 5.7% | Switzerland | 56,588 | 4.3% | Spain | $133,531 | 5.8% |