euro|topics - Germany seals itself off

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Tema destacado del Viernes, 22. Agosto 2008

Lamentablemente, todavía no se encuentra disponible la traducción en española de este texto, por lo tanto, solamente podemos poner a su disposición la versión inglesa.

Germany seals itself off

The German government has moved to restrict foreign investors' influence in German companies. With the tightening of the foreign trade act passed on Wednesday, investors from outside the EU must in the future expect more stringent controls by the federal government when seeking to invest in German businesses. Europe's press harshly criticises the new law.

Financial Times - Gran Bretaña

The Financial Times argues that foreign investors are a necessity in Germany, and that as a result the restrictive foreign trade act could have disastrous consequences: "Fallout from the credit crunch has raised hopes for mergers in the fragmented banking sector, while low market valuations are inviting takeover bids in other sectors. But German solutions are sought, not a break-up of Deutschland AG. ... Public and co-operative banks control nearly two-thirds of the retail banking market, but their small scale means that profitability is low. With banks not up for sale, consolidation is all but impossible. ... The German government, while not alone in its fears of foreign investors, is not doing its economy a favour by shutting them out." (22/08/2008)

Le Monde - Francia

Le Monde newspaper analyses the increase of protectionist regulation in Germany: "The rise of protectionism is being borne out in Germany, to the great dismay of the economic milieu. ... Initially it was concern about the growing power of [foreign] state-owned investment funds that prompted Berlin to tighten its legislation. The government wanted to restrain the ambitions of state investors with enormous foreign exchange reserves at their disposal, in particular Russian and Chinese investors, who are suspected of trying to use their stakes to exert political influence or gain control of technical know-how. ... The tone of the major corporations has now changed. A year ago neither Deutsche Bank nor the energy companies Eon and RWE concealed their worry about the appetite of state-owned investment funds. Back then employers supported to a certain extent the protectionist reflex of Germany's policymakers. ... But this harmony is now a thing of the past. The economic milieu is attacking the new regulations and pillorying them as an obstacle to the free movement of capital." (21/08/2008)

Handelsblatt - Alemania

Michael Hüther, director of the Cologne Institute for Economic Research, writes in Handelsblatt newspaper that the new foreign trade act is a "regulatory policy disaster. ... Responsible policy must recognise the potential for danger. With its blurred legal terminology, the new ammendment to the foreign trade act could just as well facilitate deliberate abuse as generally broad interpretation. Inner security and public order are trite concepts which anyone will agree to. They are wide open to interpretation, and can be used to arbitrarily make any sector or company the focus of public concern. They are fear-induced concepts which put authority into the hands of politicians. This is the especially alarming thing about this amendment, quite apart from the many arguments against giving the state the right to intervene on capital investments by foreign investors." (22/08/2008)

» de toda la revista de prensa del Viernes, 22. Agosto 2008

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