The increasing interest of companies from the USA, Great Britain and Turkey has kept foreign investment in Germany almost stable despite the energy crisis. 1783 new settlements and expansions were registered last year, according to data from the state-owned economic development agency Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI). That was 23 fewer than in 2021, but 101 more than in 2020.

"In view of the adverse circumstances – war against Ukraine, energy crisis and Corona aftermath – this is a success," GTAI Managing Director Robert Hermann told Reuters news agency on Monday. "Germany remains an attractive location." This is also reflected in the fact that foreign companies are increasingly investing in future technologies – for example in the areas of semiconductors, battery production and recycling. Around 15 percent of international companies want to locate production or conduct research and development.

The USA remained the top investor, with 279 projects alone. "This is remarkable, after all, there is an enormously strong support for domestic investment in the USA through the so-called Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)," said Hermann. Switzerland follows in second place in the ranking with 208 projects and Great Britain with 170. "Both countries do not belong to the EU, but want a foothold and often opt for Germany," said the managing director.

China is slowing down

China, on the other hand, only landed in fourth place with 141 projects, the smallest number since 2014. Business travel was temporarily not possible due to the People's Republic's strict zero-Covid policy, which is likely to have made deals more difficult, delayed or even prevented. Turkey has moved up to fifth place with 139 projects – a record.

The number of new jobs promised increased by around ten percent to 33,500. The announced investments increased to 25 billion euros, a large part of which is attributable to the involvement of the American semiconductor manufacturer Intel. But even without this, the result of 2021 would have been exceeded by one billion euros at eight billion euros. "That's an outstanding number," Hermann said.