In Control

In July 2017, the German government amended the German Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance (Außenwirtschaftsverordnung or AWV), with a view to tightening its foreign investment regime for acquisitions of 25% or more of the voting rights in a German target by investors not resident in an EU member state or part of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Though such acquisitions had already been subject to review by the German government since 2009 to assess whether they pose a threat to the public order or security, the debate on a potential sellout of German know-how and key industries to foreign – in particular Chinese – purchasers with governmental background continued. This discussion led the government to further sharpen the rules to control such foreign investment into German targets. In this regard, the amended AWV now identifies specific industry sectors of the German economy in which foreign investments may raise a threat to national public order