Chamber of Commerce report: pandemic slows Hamburg’s investments abroad. China and the USA are becoming less attractive, the EU remains the most important target region
March 11, 2021
The corona pandemic is slowing down the international business of Hamburg companies. Investment flows are currently increasingly flowing into the EU, less to China and the USA, according to a recent one Message the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce. According to this, Hamburg companies would plan fewer investments abroad for 2021 than in the previous year.
Less foreign investment planned in 2021
Especially companies in the Wholesale and Foreign Trade According to the report by the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, they are currently putting their investments on hold. Overall, 31 percent of Hamburg companies investing abroad are planning lower investment spending this year than in the previous year. On the other hand, only 22 percent of the companies had planned higher capital expenditures. The figures illustrate the effects of the Corona crisis: In previous years, the majority of companies had indicated that they wanted to increase their investments.
Corona crisis is causing global uncertainty in the markets
“Despite a slight recovery in the global economy, the corona pandemic continues to cause major ones uncertainty in the markets and tends to check supply chains, ”says Willem van der Schalk, Vice President of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce. “Market developments and investments with the aim of saving costs currently do not provide any major incentives for foreign investments.” Van der Schalk suspect the reasons as well as Vulnerability of international supply chains due to the corona pandemic also the increased freight rates in sea freight traffic and the international low availability of empty containers.
EU most important target region for foreign investments
Meanwhile, as the winner of developments in the field of foreign investment, the Eurozone are designated. According to the Chamber of Commerce, the EU will be by far the most important target region for foreign investments from Hamburg companies in 2021. “The Corona crisis has clearly shown the negative effects a one-sided dependency on delivery, especially from China, can have,” explains van der Schalk. While investment in China declined, other countries in Asia are gaining in importance. In the case of the USA, whose political situation last year caused investor confidence to decline, there are signs of a recovery.
tn / sb / kk
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