Economy and politics
Germany is the fourth largest economy in the world and the most important economic pillar in Europe. We are export champions: Our cars, medicines, soccer, Bavarian beer and our highly specialized machines are known and loved around the world.
In Germany, the share of industry in gross value added is 22.9 percent, the highest among all G7 countries. Alongside China and the USA, Germany is one of the three largest export nations. In 2017, Germany exported goods worth 1.2 trillion euros. The export ratio was almost 40 percent, in industry even over 50 percent.
The heart of the German economy beats in the SME sector. This refers to companies with annual sales of less than 50 million euros and fewer than 500 employees. Small and medium-sized enterprises account for 99.6 percent of German companies. More than 1,000 of them are so-called "hidden champions," world market leaders often little known to the public.
The most important sectors of the German companies are the well-known automotive industry, to which very many jobs in Germany depend. Under the umbrella of VW also belong the well-known brands Audi, Skoda, Seat, Sania, MAN, as well as the high-priced brands such as, Porsche, Bentley and Lamborghini.
Mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and technology and software companies are also represented in the country's index. SAP and Infineon, among others, are worth mentioning here.
There are also major pharmaceutical and chemical companies in the country. Well-known companies include Siemens, Fresenius, Bayer, Linde and BASF.
The insurance and banking sectors are represented, as are utilities and telecommunications groups. A diverse selection of sectors awaits potential investors here. Nevertheless, in international comparison, Germany has unfortunately had conspicuously few shareholders until recently.
The largest companies
The largest listed companies in Germany by market capitalization are SAP, Volkswagen, Siemens, Linde and Allianz. BioNTech, the Mainz-based biotechnology company that everyone knows, has gone public and is traded on the US stock exchange. Linde and SAP are currently in a neck-and-neck race for first place in the Dax.
SAP is the world's largest provider for the development and sale of integrated software packages. Sales are distributed among the various business areas as follows: The SAP program is an integrated standard business software product for large, but also small and medium-sized companies to manage the individual business areas.
Siemens AG is one of the world's leading suppliers of electrical and electronic equipment. Sales are divided into the following segments: medical devices, medical imaging systems, laboratory diagnostics and hearing aid systems, as well as industrial equipment, automated production, assembly, logistics and monitoring systems, and many more.
Allianz is a listed insurance group and one of the largest insurers in the world. Allianz offers a wide range of insurance products, financial services and services to over 83 million customers in more than 70 countries. The leading insurance company in Germany offers property, life and private health insurance from a single source.
Linde plc is a leading global technology group operating in the industrial gases and engineering sectors in over 100 countries. The company produces industrial gases which are subsequently used in various sectors such as the energy sector, steel production, chemical processing, environmental protection or medical therapies. In addition, the company's other activities include the design and construction of industrial plants for process engineering projects and the manufacture of plant components. Services such as engineering consultancy, project management, personnel training and customer service round off the portfolio.
The largest and most important trading centers
The German benchmark index DAX (Deutscher Aktienindex) contains the 40 most valuable listed shares from Germany, and thus represents the country's economy. Originally based on the values of the 30 most important listed stock corporations, it was expanded from 30 to 40 stock corporations in September 2021.
The MDAX (Mid-Cap-DAX) represents the following 50 most valuable companies. The TecDAX includes the 30 most valuable technology stocks in Germany. All three together form the HDAX, which contains around 100 shares.
Price development of the indices
The index in Germany is the DAX. This was introduced on July 1, 1988 and continues the Börsen-Zeitung index, whose history goes back to 1959. For December 31, 1987, it was standardized at 1,000 index points. Currently, the Dax is clearly above 15,000 points.
Trading hours in Germany
In Germany, there are quite a few stock exchanges and trading hours. The stock exchanges in Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Hanover, Düsseldorf, Berlin and Munich, as well as via Tradegate, another trading platform, are open from 08:00 - 22:00. The trading platform Xetra allows trading from 09:00 - 17:30.
A bit out of line "dances" Lang & Schwarz, known to many at the broker Trade Republic. There, the opening hours are from 07:30 - 23:00. Thus, off-exchange trading is possible here.
