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DAX in foreign hands

April 21, 2015

Foreign investors have shown an even bigger appetite in shares issued by Germany's top-30 blue-chip stocks. A new study reveals DAX-listed companies are of particular interest in the Anglo-Saxon world.

https://p.dw.com/p/1FBXS
Symbolbild Börse in Frankfurt am Main
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Rumpenhorst

Companies listed on Germany's benchmark DAX are getting more and more interesting for foreign investors, a fresh survey by consultancy Ernst & Young (EY) showed Tuesday.

The study noted that at least 56 percent of shares from the top 30 firms in Germany were in the hands of foreigners in 2014, up from 54 percent a year earlier, and up from just 45 percent a decade ago.

EY listing expert Martin Steinbach said there was no reason to believe the trend should not continue.

"The continuously strong commitment of foreign investors goes to show just how much German companies are valued globally," Steinbach said.

Euro weakness a factor

He added that Anglo-Saxon investors in particular were likely to increase their stakes in German blue-chip enterprises.

"The weak euro makes it especially interesting for British and US investors to acquire shares in such firms."

But a closer look at investment activities shows that the interest in DAX-listed firms is far from being evenly spread. While foreign shareholders keep their sights set on chipmaker Infineon and steelmaker ThyssenKrupp, to name but a few, there was little interest in reinsurer Munich Re, Deutsche Bank and Fresenius Medical Care, the study showed.

hg/ng (dpa, Reuters)