Economic powerhouse

According to the latest study of the ‘Working Group on National Accounting by the German States’ Bavaria’s economy again proved its strength during the first half of 2008. As was already the case in 2007, the gross domestic product increased by 2.8 percent in real terms. This was the second∞highest rate of growth for all of the German states, following Saarland and equal to Saxony-Anhalt. It clearly exceded the national result of 2.4 percent.

Contributing to this success is Bavaria’s industrial engineering sector, which is powered by red-hot demand for its machines and systems from Asia, Eastern Europe and other rapidly industrialising areas.

In 2007, the sector’s 400 major companies registered revenues of €41bn (of those, 58 percent stemmed from exports), a rise of 14 percent over 2006 – and 50 percent over 2003. These rises pushed total employment up past the 190,000 mark, a level last seen during the boom years of German reunification in the early 90s.

Diverse production
The sector is characterised by its great breadth of activity, location and origin of ownership. The plant and equipment manufactured by the sector enable the production of everything from steel, asphalt, automobiles, tunnels, bridges and factories to bottle tops, clothes, fruit-pickers and glue appliers.

The sector’s companies are located in virtually every city, town and village in Bavaria. A large number of these companies are still being run by their ‘founding families’; many others are subsidiaries set in the state by Japanese, American and other non-German firms. Contributions to growth also came from the building trade, as well as from commerce, the hotel and restaurant industry and transport. A key sector, of course, is the information and communications industry (ICT).

On the strength of the excellent framework conditions for growth, a large number of companies operating in the ICT and services sectors have established their European headquarters or a branch office in Bavaria in the last few years. In 2008 alone, 30 foreign ICT and services companies created over 300 new jobs in Bavaria.
 
Bavaria offers not only an innovative environment and a well-qualified labour force, but with its wide-ranging, dynamic and international corporate landscape, also attractive customer potential. Bavaria’s strategic position at the centre of Europe and its excellent infrastructure offer first-class opportunities for opening up markets, and not only in Germany.

Financial service providers also greatly value the market opportunities offered in Bavaria. Alongside Frankfurt/Main, the State is the stronghold for financial services in Germany. On average, one new company operating in this sector comes to Bavaria each month.

The excellent IT and services landscape is a decisive factor contributing to the appeal of Bavaria: Bavaria enjoys a first∞rate reputation worldwide as a centre for high-tech and high-service. There is a wide spectrum of customer-related services for the whole added-value chain. Bavaria is service-oriented: and this also includes the services provided by the Ministry of Economic Affairs through its Invest in Bavaria unit for companies wishing to invest in Bavaria.