Doing Business in Germany

EENI- School of International Business

Subject - Doing Business in Germany. Syllabus:

1. Introduction to the Federal Republic of Germany (the European Union)
2. The Federated States of Germany
3. The economic profile of the main cities of Germany
4. The economy of Germany
5. Germany as the European Economic Engine
6. Germany: the most important political actor of the European Union
7. The German Industry
8. The German Services Sector
9. The German Foreign Trade
10. The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Germany. The German investments abroad
11. Case Studies:
    1. Allianz Group
    2. VOLKSWAGEN Group
    3. Bayer
    4. Henkel
12. Access to the German Market
13. Business Plan for Germany

The objectives of the subject “Doing Business in the Federal Republic of Germany” are the following:

1. To analyse the strengths of the German Economy and Foreign Trade
2. To evaluate the business opportunities in the German Market
3. To analyse the trade relations of Germany with the country of the student
4. To know the Free trade agreements of Germany as a member of the European Union
5. To understand the importance of Germany as the first European economy and the political leader of the EU
6. To develop a business plan for the German Market

Description of the Subject: Doing Business in Germany:

Germany: The leading European economy and political leader of the European Union.

The Federal Republic of Germany (Europe)

1. Language: German
2. The German Borders: France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, and Switzerland
3. Capital: Berlin
4. Area: 357,022 square kilometres
5. The German Population: 82 millions of people
6. Religion in Germany: Christianity.
   1. Catholicism (50%)
   2. Protestants
7. Germany belongs to the Western Christian Civilisation (European Economic Area)
   1. The Nobel Peace Prize Albert Schweitzer was born in Germany

The German Economy

1. With a gross domestic product of 2,423 trillion of euros, the Federal Republic of Germany is:
   1. The largest European economy
   2. The third largest economy in the world
   3. The fifth largest, taking into account the Purchasing Power Parity
   4. One of the largest industrialised nations
2. Frankfurt is the financial centre of the Federal Republic of Germany (the largest stock exchange in Europe)
3. The industry is the largest pillar of the German economy (25% of gross domestic product, 8 millions of workers)
4. The secondary sector: 30% of gross domestic product of Germany, 25% of the workforce of the Federal Republic of Germany (10 millions of people)
5. The service sector is the largest of the German economy (70% of gross domestic product GDP)
6. The Main German companies are Volkswagen, Daimler, Porsche, Siemens, Continental, BMW, Basf, Bayer, Beiersdorf, DHL, Bosch, Infineon, Deutsche Telekom, ThyssenKrupp, Bertelsmann, Lufthansa, SAP, Adidas, Hugo Boss
7. The European Central Bank (ECB) is in Frankfurt
8. Decentralised EU Agency in Germany: the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA): Cologne

The German Foreign Trade

1. The Federal Republic of Germany is the second largest exporting country in the world (the total imports from Germany correspond to those of France and Italy together), with its annual trade surplus of 160 billion euros
2. Main German exports: machinery, vehicles, metals, chemical products, textiles, manufactures and food products
3. Main German imports: machinery, foods, chemical products, textiles, vehicles and metals
4. The largest German port is the Port of Hamburg
5. with a total of 995 billions of euros in export products (an increase of 2,7%) Germany obtained a surplus in its trade balance of 176 billions of euros
6. As a member of the European Union, Germany is the beneficiary of the Free trade agreements of the EU: Canada, Mexico, South Korea, India, Central America, Chile, Ukraine, etc

International economic relations of Germany

Germany is a member, among others, of...

1. International Chamber of Commerce
2. Inter-American Development Bank
3. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
4. Asian Development Bank
5. African Development Bank
6. World Trade Organisation
7. Islamic Development Bank
8. United Nations
9. World Bank
10. International Monetary Fund (IMF)
11. European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
12. European Investment Bank (EIB)
13. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
14. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
15. Asia-Europe Economic Meeting (ASEM)
16. Council of the Baltic Sea States
17. Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
18. Regional Cooperation Council
19. Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
20. Group of States of the Council of Europe Convention against the corruption (GRECO)
21. Germany belongs to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) since 1 January 1995.

At a regional level Germany is a founding member of the European Union (EU) and the European Council. As a member of the European Union, Germany is beneficiary of the Free trade agreements of the EU.

Germany is an observer country of the Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation and del Central American Integration System (SICA)

Examples of the subject - Foreign Trade and Business in Germany: