In the Corona crisis year 2020 and amid unprecedented political tensions, the number of German companies in Russia fell by seven percent compared to the previous year. According to the German-Russian Chamber of Commerce Abroad (AHK), 3971 German companies or agencies with German capital were still registered with Russia’s tax authorities at the end of the year – that is 303 fewer than in 2019 (4274). In addition to the corona pandemic, the massive political tensions between Berlin and Moscow are depressing the mood. The EU and Russia have imposed numerous sanctions on each other.
According to the AHK, the German economy continues to invest heavily in the largest country in the world in terms of area. However, the trend towards German companies saying goodbye to Russia continued. Since 2011, the number of companies has fallen by more than a third or by more than 2000, it said.
“In addition to the pandemic, sanctions, global trade conflicts and protectionism are major challenges for large German corporations and medium-sized and family-run companies in Russia,” said AHK President Rainer Seele. The AHK is the largest foreign trade association in Russia.
The Russian regions are particularly affected by the withdrawal. “The number of companies is falling, but the quality of Germany’s engagement in Russia remains high,” said Seele. After a weak second quarter with a corona lockdown in Russia, German companies invested almost 700 million euros there in the third quarter. According to this, German direct investments in the country have so far amounted to around 1.3 billion euros, it said, citing information from the Bundesbank.
Despite the sanctions in the course of the Ukraine conflict, for example, Russia and Germany had repeatedly announced that they would deepen economic cooperation. To this end, a German-Russian entrepreneurial council was founded in mid-December. The committee is intended to support joint projects in the digital economy, health care and mobility, for example. / Mau / DP / jsl
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