Chinese Investments in Germany: Curse or Blessing?

Abstract

‘China is buying up Germany’, ‘China’s company purchases in Germany are hotting up’. It is not just because of headlines like these that Chinese investors have been making a name for themselves in Germany of late. On the one hand, there have been record deals—the pace of acquisitions has accelerated such that, on average, one German company falls into Chinese ownership each week. On the other, in the beginning of 2018 there have been job losses in firms such as LEDVANCE GmbH (formerly OSRAM GmbH) and KUKA. Insiders talk of a takeover frenzy among Chinese investors in Germany and expect more acquisitions. In the German economy and political realm (as well as in the European Union), the takeover wave has given rise to some concerns. This prompts the following questions: What are the reasons for takeovers in Germany? Is there a change in the behavior of Chinese investors? Is the image of Chinese investors in Germany massively clouded by the LEDVANCE or KUKA cases? To answer these questions, this paper firstly summarizes newer analysis of Chinese investments in Germany and, secondly, draws on the experiences of works councils and experts in codetermination in Germany who are directly affected by these takeovers.