BERLIN, June 11 (Xinhua) -- The number of foreign investment projects in Germany reached a new record high in 2017, a study published on Monday by the German branch of accountancy firm Ernst & Young (EY) finds.
EY recorded the highest-ever measured number of 1,124 projects by foreign firms to invest in Germany in 2017, marking an increase of 6 percent compared to the previous year. Around 31,000 new jobs were created in the country as a consequence.
The rise in the absolute number of German projects was further unscored by a qualitative EY survey among 505 international companies of their preferred European investment locations. Some 66 percent of respondents named Germany as the one of the top three destinations for investment in Europe, followed by France (52 percent) and Britain (52 percent).
In particular, the investors praised the high level of qualifications held by workers in Germany, good transport infrastructure, and a stable political and legal framework for doing business. Yet while 74 percent of respondents gave their seal of approval to related government policies in general, only 15 percent expressed a high level of confidence that Germany was a country where digital business models could flourish.
"Germany faces great opportunities but also great challenges at the interface of the Old and New Economy," a statement by EY director Hubert Barth read. "Now is the time to support the current strength of German industry and set an ambitious course towards digitalization," he added. Barth pointed to the poor quality of high-speed internet provision in particular as an issue that needed to be solved in this context.
Measured in terms of the total number of projects, Germany (1,124) was surpassed only by Britain (1,205) in EY's European comparison of investment locations for 2017. Speaking to Xinhua on Monday, an EY representative noted that the lasting high number of British projects was "surprising", in spite of a significant decline in the value of the pound, due to the uncertainties created by Brexit.
However, official figures compiled by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for the annual volume of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) measured in terms of their actual pound value still reveal a steep fall in new investments in Britain by almost 80 percent between 2016 and 2017.
EY also noted that uncertainty caused by Britain's decision to leave the European Union (EU) and a related risk of firms losing access to the bloc's single market was the likely cause for a 35 percent rise in the number of British investment projects on the continent in 2017. Germany was the principal beneficiary of this development, witnessing an 83 percent increase in the number of foreign business projects involving capital inflows from Britain.
"Brexit is a real and still nearly incalculable risk for British firms which require permanent market access to Europe. The uncertain outcome of ongoing negotiations between the United Kingdom and the EU is currently motivating many British firms to open or expand branches on the continent" EY partner Bernhard Lorentz commented on the trend.
At the same time, German firms also featured prominently as significant investors themselves in other European countries in 2017. Around 55,700 new jobs were created on the continent in this fashion, a national tally second only to that of U.S. investment projects in Europe (80,000).