From batteries to cloud, global giants invest big
Germany is seeing a surge in foreign owned companies. The latest numbers from CompanyData.com show strong growth over the last decade: from 20,612 in 2015 to 145,411 in 2025, an increase of 605.5%. This sharp rise underlines Germany’s role as Europe’s industrial and investment hub.
Luxemburg remains the largest source of foreign owned companies in Germany, rising from 2,534 in 2015 to 18,990 in 2025. Long-standing business links and proximity continue to drive cross-border ownership.
Chinese-owned companies in Germany grew from 399 in 2015 to 3,253 in 2025, an increase of 715%. China now ranks just outside the top 10, in 11th place. The growth is driven by major investments in manufacturing and logistics. Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) opened its first European battery plant in Arnstadt, Thuringia, and is now scaling up production to supply European automakers, according to Xinhua. Separately, the German government approved a 24.9% minority stake by COSCO in Hamburg’s Container Terminal Tollerort, Reuters reported, underscoring the depth of Sino-German trade links.
US technology and cloud providers are also stepping up investment. Microsoft announced a €3.2 billion program to expand AI and cloud infrastructure in Germany by 2025, including workforce training. Amazon Web Services plans to invest €7.8 billion in the European Sovereign Cloud with its first region in Brandenburg, complementing Germany’s role as a digital hub for Europe.
| Country of origin | Companies |
| Luxemburg | 18,990 |
| Switzerland | 16,071 |
| England | 15,568 |
| Netherlands | 13,337 |
| United States of America | 12,758 |
| France | 11,601 |
| Austria | 9,616 |
| Denmark | 4,535 |
| Italy | 3,829 |
| Sweden | 3,800 |
Among foreign-owned companies in Germany, the leading sectors are holding companies (16,681), real estate (11,359), and management services (8,193). Engineering services (7,853) and IT-related activities such as computer services (6,983) and Software companies (4,944) also rank highly. This reflects Germany’s role as both an industrial hub and a center for professional and digital services.
| Industry | Companies |
| Holding companies | 16.681 |
| Real Estate Agents And Managers | 11.359 |
| Management Services | 8.193 |
| Engineering Services | 7.853 |
| Computer Related Services | 6.983 |
| Software companies | 4.944 |
| Business services | 4.425 |
| Electric services | 4.139 |
| Computers wholesale | 3.428 |
| Business consulting | 3.328 |
End of press release
CompanyData.com (formerly BoldData) is a global company data provider headquartered in the Netherlands, with offices in Amsterdam, Berlin, and Dubai. Since 2013, we’ve supported over 5,000 clients in 81 countries with verified, structured company data. We specialize in custom-built datasets with legal entity data, company hierarchies, contact data and B2B email data. Our mission is to make global company data simple, transparent and truly useful.
Editors are welcome to reference this data in their reporting. Please credit CompanyData.com with a link to the source page. Additional figures or raw data are available on request.
This report is derived from CompanyData.com’s global company database. The foundation of the database is official national trade registers, complemented by trusted sources such as the GLEIF, LEI Repository, chambers of commerce, and local commercial registries. For Germany, the primary source is official central platform for company disclosures (Unternehmensregister) and handelsregister. From these verified records, CompanyData.com builds global company hierarchies and relationships, making it possible to analyze the role of foreign-owned companies across countries.
Daan Wolff
Founder & CEO
d.wolff@companydata.com
www.companydata.com
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