German banking giant Deutsche Bank has expressed that it is willing to provide support for companies that are planning to expand or set up operations in China. The statement comes as the China-US trade war continues and the Asian country becomes more open to other foreign partners to show that it is ready for global growth.
In an interview with the South China Morning Post, chief executive for Asia-Pacific Werner Steinmuller said that the trade tension between the two global giants will create positive opportunities for the European Union, with Germany acting like a country that is central to these efforts. For one, German businesses remain bullish about the business climate in China and are preparing to bring their investments to the country.
In a business confidence survey released by the German Chamber of Commerce recently, while German companies take expansion into China with stride and are extra cautious, many of them see it as an important market that will usher in good business opportunities for European firms. To date, the three biggest German industries that have Chinese locations are business services, industrial equipment and machinery, and automotive.
Car maker BMW, for instance, said that it would invest some US$4.2 billion to gain control of its joint venture in China by 2022. This is after the government said that it would get rid of the cap on foreign ownership of local car companies by the said year. Deutsche Bank had been instrumental to this move and is expected to offer even more support in the future-and for similar endeavors by other German companies.
Steinmuller reportedly noted that as China continues to open up its business sector, his bank is preparing to act as a facilitator to more cross-border deals by multinational firms. DB's first ever international presence in 1872 was China-based and the company said it intends to continue this deep growth.
