The Argentine Embassy in Germany held seminars on investments in Berlin and Düsseldorf, with a view to promoting investment opportunities and attracting foreign capital to Argentina. The events held on 13 and 15 November were attended by more than 60 representatives from large German companies.
Presentations were given by Uwe Erbs, from Santander Bank Germany; Klaus Pötter, from renewable energy company Abo Wind; and Martín Jebsen, from legal and accounting firm Jebsen & Co. The panelists, all of them with business experience in Argentina, underscored the current strengths of Argentina to attract new investments based on economic-political reforms introduced by President Mauricio Macri's Government.
The panel was moderated by Hildegard Stausberg, a senior journalist at German newspaper Die Welt and expert in Argentine politics and economy, and included speeches by the Director for Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Economy and Energy, Christian Forwick, and the Director of the Argentine-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Barbara Könner, among others.
During her speech, Könner highlighted the role played by Argentina in organizing the B20 Summit within the context of the G20 Summit. Furthermore, she stated that the current German Government is very interested in expanding infrastructure projects and encouraged company representatives to become involved.
In turn, the Argentine Ambassador to Germany, Edgardo Malaroda, highlighted that the signature of a Mercosur-EU Agreement would entail excellent business opportunities for German companies. "The Agreement, supported by Germany, will benefit both parties," Malaroda noted.
The seminar, organized in conjunction with the Business Association for Latin America (LAV) and Santander Bank, was attended by representatives from Wintershall (natural gas and oil exploration), Bombardier Transportation (railways), Siemens and important banks such as Deutsche Bank and DZ Bank. Renowned consulting companies such as Ernst & Young and Price-Waterhouse, as well as small and medium-sized German enterprises, also participated in the seminar. Representatives from the German Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Economy and Energy, and Agriculture were present as well.
Germany is one of Argentina's key partners, the 5th largest investor at the global level and the 9th largest foreign investor in Argentina, with an FDI stock amounting to USD 2.2 billion in 2016. Since 2015, German companies have made investment announcements in Argentina exceeding USD 1.7 billion, in the industrial goods, oil and gas, and health sectors. Trade between Argentina and Germany amounted to over USD 3.3 billion in 2017.
Press Release No. 462/18
