German business optimistic despite crisis
Updated: 2012-05-31 10:26
(Xinhua)
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BERLIN - German businesses are expecting a bright future and a stronger growth despite lingering shadows of the eurozone debt crisis, a closely watched survey showed Wednesday.
Based on the latest survey of more than 25,000 companies, the German Chamber of Industry and Trade (DIHK) reported that business leaders' outlook for Germany, Europe's largest economy, remained resilient amid recent economic unrest in Greece and Spain.
Some 42 percent of companies viewed the current conditions of their businesses as "good", while 48 percent felt "satisfactory" and 10 percent believed "poor", the DIHK said.
For the next 12 months, expectations of German businesspeople jumped from 5.0 points to 11.0 points, well above the average level of 3.0, as about one quarter of companies forecast businesses to improve, with 61 percent seeing no change, the report said.
"Companies' assessment of current situation is exceptionally good overall," said DIHK chief Martin Wansleben. "Optimism is spreading and firms are expanding their hiring and investments."
The DIHK predicted that the gross capital investment in Germany would expand 2.8 percent this year, with equipment investment up by 3.0 percent and construction investment 2.5 percent.
The number of unemployed people, which has reached historic low in Germany, would continue to decline to 2.83 million this year, compared with 2.98 million last year, the chamber said.
Robust labor market and strong domestic demands would boost both private consumption and government consumption by 1.3 percent this year, it added.
The DIHK expected exports, Germany's main growth motor, to climb 4.0 percent this year and imports 5.0 percent in the same period.
Germany's exports are strongly supported by demands from Asia, as well as the United States, while the low foreign exchange rate of the euro also played a role, it noted.you
According to the survey, the DIHK raised its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast from 1.0 percent to 1.3 percent.
The German government had expected the growth of overall economy would stand at 0.7 percent this year.
As for Greece, Wansleben said the political deadlock in the country did bring about more uncertainties in the crisis-hit region.
However, he was confident that German businesses were able to cope with the aftershock of a possible Greece's exit from the euro, a scenario that is unlikely to happen in a short term but has been intensively talked about by investors recently.
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