The German government is taking steps to counter a surge in Chinese bids for stakes in German technology companies, including the creation of a €1bn fund that could rescue such firms in financial trouble, a government source says.
Senior officials are also working on changes to foreign trade regulations to ensure that key technologies remain in German hands. These will include state reviews of foreign acquisitions of stakes in companies below the 25% threshold, and expanding the range of purchases that must be examined.
"This is an issue that we are working on very intensely," said the source, who was not authorised to speak publicly.
Berlin was galvanised into action by the surprise takeover of robotics firm Kuka by China’s Midea in 2016 and the purchase earlier in 2018 of a 9.7% stake in Daimler by carmaker Geely.
Chinese companies completed 30 acquisitions in Germany in 2017, nearly double the number for 2016, and Chinese proposals accounted for 40% of the 165 reviews of foreign takeover plans in the past three years, the source said.
"China is working diligently to close technology gaps and dominate the world market with new technologies," the source said. Chinese firms, some state-owned, were particularly interested in German companies with special know-how, start-ups in the area of new technologies and companies active in critical infrastructure fields, the source added.
As a last resort, the government also wants to set up a fund that could help companies if no private investors could be found to replace a possible Chinese bidder or if guarantees by the state development bank KfW were not sufficient.
"We are talking about €1bn that would be available as a last resort," the source said, adding the money could be used to support development of key technologies by companies.
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