BERLIN, April 5 (Xinhua) -- New orders in Germany's manufacturing sector increased slightly by 0.2 percent in February, rebounding from a slump of 11.4 percent in January, according to provisional data released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).
According to the report, while the automotive industry recorded a decline of 8.1 percent, orders for machinery and equipment, which had experienced significant declines in the past months, saw notable growth of 10.7 percent in February.
Domestic orders in Europe's largest economy rose by 1.5 percent in February, while foreign demand continued to decline, with a sharp drop in new orders of 13.1 percent from the Euro area, Destatis reported.
Germany's leading economic research institutions recently revised their 2024 economic growth forecast for the country down to 0.1 percent. Concerns over international competitiveness as a business location have become increasingly prominent.
"Declining competitiveness at the German business location, as well as a weak economy, geopolitical risks, and an increasing number of trade barriers determine the foreign investments of German industrial companies," the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) said, noting companies choosing to invest abroad over domestic locations is concerning.
In mid-March, DIHK reported that over 40 percent of the country's industrial companies are considering investing abroad due to pressing cost-cutting concerns.
Data from the German Economic Institute indicated that foreign investment in Germany reached its lowest level in a decade in 2023, totaling only 22 billion euros (23.8 billion U.S. dollars).
To address challenges in maintaining Germany's industrial prowess, the government approved a 3.2-billion-euro growth package at the end of March. The package includes tax relief measures and reductions in bureaucratic hurdles for businesses.
Tanja Goenner, managing director of the Federation of German Industries, said that "this tax relief will not provide a clearly noticeable stimulus for growth" as the package volume is less than half of what was initially planned. (1 euro = 1.08 U.S. dollar) ■
