BERLIN, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- In August, the number of company insolvencies in Germany increased by 13.8 percent year-on-year as the country's economy has entered a phase of stagnation, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said on Wednesday citing provisional figures.
In the first half of 2023, Europe's largest economy registered 20.5 percent more insolvencies than in the same period a year earlier, according to Destatis.
"At present, interest-sensitive companies in particular are in a problematic situation," said Christoph Niering, insolvency administrator and chairman of the Registered Association of lnsolvency Administrators (VID).
Although the rise in business insolvencies "did not trigger the oft-feared wave," Germany's real estate industry as well as the construction sector are currently particularly affected, Niering added.
Earlier this month, the Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) already warned that indicators based on preliminary court rulings related to insolvency filings had shown a "striking development."
On Wednesday, the Federation of German Industries (BDI) slashed its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast from 0.0 percent to minus 0.4 percent. "The German economy is treading water after the recession in the winter half-year," the BDI said. ■