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Investing in Germany |
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WIKI ANALYSIS
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This article describes a geographic region that covers various exchanges, currencies, indices and stocks. View articles referencing this region. |
The OECD country is globally the 4th largest ecomomy by GDP and closely integrated into the European Ecomomic and Monetary Union.[1] Germans currency is the Euro and the European Central Bank is located in Frankfurt.[2] Germany is a leading export country with an industry focusing on the development and production of high quality and technological outstanding goods.[3] Typical for the ecomomy is the large number of small companies which succesfully captured market niches offering highly specialised solutions to the customers.[4]
Exchanges
Germanys main stock exchange is in Frankfurt and minor trading places are in Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart, München and Düsseldorf. German companies are also listed on foreign exchanges (NYSE, LSE, Euronext and other). The stock market is divided into the segments Prime Standard, Standard and Entry Level.[5] Further important segment is the trading of bonds[6] and derivatives.[7] The European Energy Exchange AG (EEX)[8] was created in 2002 by a merger of the Frankfurt and Leipzig power exchanges.
Share Market Indexes
The DAX-30 is the leading stock index. The TecDAX index is based on the selection of 30 leading technology companies. Midcaps are in the MDAX index which covers 50 midsize companies. The SDAX is listing 50 selected small size companies. All share indices are available for the 3 market segments Prime, Standard and Entry Level. Further indices are focused on the type of company business. [9]
Major German Companies
Automotive
German car makers are BMW (BMW-FF), Daimler AG (DAI), Porsche Automobil Holding SE (PAH3-FF) and Volkswagen (VLKAY). The European headquarters of Ford Motor Company (F) together with major development and manufacturing activities are located in Germany. Important automotive suppliers are Bosch (not listed), the Schaeffler Group with FAG and Conti (not listed) and ElringKlinger (ZIL2-FF) (gaskets for gearbox and combustion engine).
Finance
The largest banks are Deutsche Bank AG (DB) and Commerzbank (CBK-FF). Allianz SE (AZ), Muenchener Rueck (MUV2-FF) and Hannover Rueckversicherung AG (HNR1-FF) are the biggest insurance companies. Deutsche Boerse (DB1-FF) is operating the German stock exchanges.
Machinery and Equipment
Important manufacturers of durable industrial goods are MAN AG (MAN-FF) (trucks, buses, diesel engines, turbo machinery), Demag Cranes AG (D9C-FF), GEA Group AG (G1A-FF) (process engineering and equipment), Gildemeister AG (GIL-FF) (cutting machines), Heidelberger Druckmaschinen (HDD-FF) (printing machines), Krones (KRN-FF) (bottling, canning and packaging machines), KUKA AG (KU2-FF) (robots and automation). Most of this companies are constituents of the MDAX index.
Steel
Salzgitter AG (SZG-FF) and Thyssen Krupp AG (TYEKF) are the leading German steel makers with additional activities in the machinery and equipment segment.
Traffic and Logistics
Lufthansa (LHA-FF) is a worldwide operating aviation company. Deutsche Post (DPW-FF) is providing mail and logistics services.
Electrical and Electronic
Siemens AG (SI) is operating in the industry, energy and healthcare sectors.
Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals
BASF SE (BASFY), Bayer AG (BAYRY) and Merck KGaA (MRK-FF) are big players in the global industry. Hoechst AG was integrated into the French company Sanofi-Aventis SA (SNY) in 2004. K+S_AG_(SDF-FF) is supplying fertilizers, plant care and salt products. Linde AG (LIN-FF) is specialist in technical gases and engineering.
Healthcare
Fresenius Medical Care (FMS) is a global provider of dialysis products and services. 35.8% of FMS is owned by Fresenius SE (FRE3-FF).
Utilities
E.ON AG (EON) and RWE AG (RWE-FF) are the leading power and gas companies.
IT and Telecommunication
SAP AG (SAP) and Software AG (SOW-FF) are offering software applications and services. Deutsche Telekom AG (DT) is operating broadband and mobile networks for voice and data and is offering IT services.
Alternative Energy
Companies in the German solar power sector are Solarworld AG (SWV-FF), Ersol Solar Energy (ES6-FF), Q-Cells (QCE-FF), Solar-Fabrik (SFX-FF), Sunways (SWW-FF), Solon AG (SOO1-FF), Aleo Solar (AS1-FF), Centrosolar (C3O-FF), Phoenix Solar (PS4-FF), Conergy AG (CGY-FF), and S.A.G.Solarstrom (SAG-FF). This companies together cover the whole value chain from the production of raw silicon to the installation and service of solar panels or power plants.
Consumer Goods and Retailing
Adidas AG (ADDYY) is making sporting goods. Henkel (HEN-FF) and Beiersdorf AG (BEI-FF) are providing personal and home care products and adhesives. METRO AG (MEO-FF) is an international retailing company.
Trends and Forces
References
- ↑ IMF - World Economic Outlook Database, April 2009
- ↑ European Central Bank - The Euro
- ↑ Statistical Yearbook 2008
- ↑ Hidden Champions: Lessons from 500 of the World's Best Unknown Companies, Hermann Simon
- ↑ Regulated Market - Market Segments by German Law
- ↑ Market Overview Bonds
- ↑ EUREX - Europe's global market place
- ↑ EEX - European Energy Exchane
- ↑ Börse Frankfurt - All Indices