Germany strengthens foreign investment controls
Out-Law News | 02 Feb 2021 | 3:15 pm |
2 min. read
The German government intends to tighten the rules on foreign direct investment control by extending the list of businesses whose acquisition must be notified to the German Ministry of Economics. The acquisition of control rights will also trigger an investment review.
The German Ministry of Economics and Energy (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie/BMWi) has published a draft bill to change the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance (Außenwirtschaftsverordnung/AWV). New business areas will be added to the list of sectors in which acquisitions by foreign investors have to undergo a security screening. The list will be extended from 11 to 27 security-relevant areas. Foreign direct investments (FDIs) in these areas will then have to be notified to the BMWi and may not be conducted until the ministry has finished the review.