Direct investments

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is defined as cross-border investment in enterprises with the objective of establishing a lasting influence over business activities.

The statistics on the structure and activity of foreign affiliates (foreign affiliates statistics – FATS) provide key data on foreign-controlled enterprises.

Transaction values

At just over €100 billion, foreign direct investment continued to expand sharply in 2019, even though it was clearly down on the previous year’s figure (€148 billion).

Stock data

Primary and secondary domestic direct investment abroad totalled €1,277 billion at the end of 2018, up €70 billion on the year.

Foreign affiliates statistics (FATS)

Number of foreign affiliates of German investors

In 2018, the number of foreign corporate units with German investors decreased slightly. The annual turnover generated in these corporate units increased by 83 billion to over 2.4 trillion euros.