Eastern Germany an attractive location for S'pore firms looking to enter Europe
By Rachel Kelly, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 02 November 2009 2030 hrs

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SINGAPORE: Singapore is Germany's largest trade partner in Southeast Asia and trade between the two countries is expected to continue growing.

The two countries share interests in key industries such as the biomedical sector and solar photovoltaics.

Experts said more tie ups are on the cards as local firms look to tap into industry knowledge in Eastern Germany.

It has been 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall in Eastern Germany which opened the door not only for new economic growth but also new trade partners.

Bilateral trade between Singapore and Germany has been growing at a steady pace, reaching S$22.4 billion in 2008 from S$16 billion in 2004.

Tim Philippi, executive director, Singaporean-German Chamber of Industry, said: "I'm very much convinced that for the future we will have a very much increased trade, maybe not that steep in the last years, but a steady increase.

"Germany is the largest market in Europe and Europe is the largest market worldwide. So it offers a lot of opportunities for Singapore companies when they want to enter not only Germany, but also Europe.

"When we now look at Eastern Germany, it changed a lot over the last 20 years. 20 years ago, the Berlin wall came down and since then Eastern Germany was built up. We know they have excellent infrastructure and telecommunications, new airports with 24/7 services in the airport."

The Eastern region of Germany is one of the global forerunners in solar photovoltaic technology and is a knowledge base many Singapore firms are looking to tap into.

There are currently over 1,200 registered German companies in Singapore, and many are eager to tie up with Singapore firms looking to venture into Europe.

Thomas Hengst, member of the Management Board, Roth & Rau, said: "We would be very interested to partner with companies from Singapore, whether they invest in Germany or not.

"We can already tell from our business in Asia, we generate about 10 to 15 per cent from Singapore. And it will of course depend how some of the big companies will invest in the future, with growth being 20 or 25 per cent."

Some Singapore firms that have already entered the Eastern German market said that the common use of the English language and affordability make it an attractive place to do business. - CNA/vm