China becomes Germany’s top investor

Berlin (CNS) – China pulled ahead of the U.S. to become the top foreign investor in Germany in 2011 in terms of investment project numbers. The Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI) agency on Thursday said 158 Chinese investment projects were finalized last year.

The U.S. used to be Germany's largest foreign investor two years ago, but in 2011 with only 110 investment projects, it fell behind China, said a spokesman for GTAI. Switzerland and France ranked third and the fourth respectively with 91 and 53 investment projects in Germany.

According to statistics released by GTAI, Germany has attracted 827 foreign enterprises from 33 countries to do business on its soil, and the number of its foreign investment projects increased 13 percent in 2011.

Favorable policies such as tax reduction and the slow rate of salary increases have proven irresistible to foreign investors, who chose Germany over other countries in Europe, GTAI speculated.

Foreign investors mainly put their money in the mechanical engineering and automotive sectors, which account for 21 percent of the total. Secondary investment orientation looks to computers, communications and software systems.