Germany

German companies promise investments for growth

Alliance between more than 60 major groups: 630 billion capital by 2028, with at least 100 billion in new resources

by Gianluca Di Donfrancesco

21 July 2025

Il Ceo di Deutsche Bank, Christian Sewing (a sinistra) e il cancelliere tedesco Friedrich Merz (AFP)

2' min read

Key points

Merz: signal of trust
Looking for a revival

2' min read

Large German companies are trying to put themselves at the service of Germany's economic and technological revival: 61 of the country's leading groups signed the 'Made for Germany' initiative on 21 July, promising total capital of EUR 631 billion by 2028, including both planned and new investments. The latter should amount to at least one hundred billion.

Merz: confidence signal

The initiative was presented to the head of government, Friedrich Merz, the deputy prime minister, Lars Klingbeil, and the economics minister, Katherina Reiche, in a meeting at the chancellery. The companies, Merz said, "are making an important contribution to greater economic growth in the country. At the same time, they are sending a strong signal to international companies to come back and invest more in Germany'.

Among the promoters are heavy names, such as Deutsche Bank chairman Christian Sewing, Siemens CEO Roland Busch, Axel Springer media group chairman Mathias Döpfner and Axel Geiser, CEO of FGS Global.

Among the companies that have joined are Allianz, Airbus, Bmw, Deutsche Börse, Mercedes Benz, Rheinmetall, Sap, Volkswagen, but also US groups with a presence in Germany, such as Nvidia and Blackrock and Blackstone.

The investments will be used, among other things, to build new locations and production facilities in Germany, for research and development and modernisation of infrastructure.

Looking for a relaunch

Europe's largest economy has seen GDP shrink for two consecutive years, which could become three, in 2025, especially if Donald Trump's worst threats on tariffs materialise.

"We are all committed to the same goal, which is to have growth and competitiveness in Germany and Europe," said Sewing (Deutsche Bank). Busch (Siemens) emphasised that small and medium-sized enterprises (the 'hidden champions') and start-ups are also joining the initiative and added that the companies expect the government to quickly launch the promised infrastructure investments and measures to combat the labour shortage.

For Clemens Fuest, president of the Ifo Institute, the initiative is a 'step in the right direction', but it remains to be seen what economic impact it will have.

While waiting for the German revival to take shape, the industry continues to lose ground. In the first five months of 2025, the metal and electronics industry lost around 60,000 jobs, according to the industry association Gesamtmetall.

Gianluca Di Donfrancescoredattore
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Luogo: Milano
Lingue parlate: Inglese
Argomenti: Germania, Fmi, Banca mondiale, economia e commercio internazionale, cambiamento climatico, e transizione verde
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