Foreign capital reshapes Germany’s industrial heartland

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 leading source

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.

Momentum from England

Another country showing remarkable growth is England. CompanyData.com tracks a rise in English-owned companies in Germany from 1,646 in 2015 to 15,568 in 2025, a growth of 846%. This surge reflects how UK firms have expanded in Germany to secure a foothold in the European market after Brexit, as reported by The London Economic.

China’s footprint in Germany’s industrial heartland

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 tech and cloud capital deepen Germany’s digital backbone

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.

Top 10 countries of origin (2025)

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

Industries leading the charge

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.

Top 10 foreign-owned industries (2025)

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

About CompanyData.com

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.

Note to the editor

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.