Eastern German manufacturing: Enormous increase in investment

According to the results of the latest Ifo Investment Survey (autumn 2006), firms in eastern German manufacturing intend to invest ca. €8.6 billion in new buildings and equipment in 2007. This amounts to an increase of 5% over last year. For 2006, the survey responses indicate a sharp increase of 20½%. This corresponds to an investment growth of €1.4 billion to €8.2 billion. This robust increase was largely the result of the sharp investment growth in electrical engineering and the chemical industry. With a more than 40% increase and more than a half a billion euros, electrical engineering increased the gap to the other industries considerably; the investments of electrical engineering alone amounted to one fourth of the total volume in manufacturing. In second place in 2006, with an investment growth of nearly 70% or nearly a half a billion euros, was the chemical industry. Thus, about 40% of total investments in eastern German manufacturing in 2006 was attributable to these two industries alone.