Germany is considering scaling back plans to ramp up government screening of Chinese investments, the Wall Street Journal said.
A decision to ease back from a planned foreign investment screening law had become likelier due to fears that scrutiny on Chinese investments could hurt Berlin’s efforts to revitalize Germany’s economy, the report said, citing unidentified people familiar with the plan.
The plan for the bill proposed giving the government powers to screen foreign investments for security risks, a German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action paper seen by the Wall Street Journal said.
Phot: Reuters
The bill would allow the government to review new types of greenfield investments, including quantum technology, sophisticated semiconductors, artificial intelligence and critical infrastructure, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing the ministry’s paper.
The government also sought to include a provision that would allow the screening of cooperation projects between German research institutions and foreign partners in critical areas.
No final decision on the plan has been made, but “both ideas will likely be dropped,” the report said.
A German government spokesperson declined to give a comment to the Wall Street Journal on the deliberations, but said: “Investment screening is designed to avoid risks to security and public order in Germany. At the same time, it is important to remain open to foreign investments.”
The country needs an economic turnaround in order to secure its geopolitical position, German Minister of Finance and Free Democratic Party head Christian Lindner said on Saturday last week.
In its World Economic Outlook report, the IMF cut its forecasts for German GDP by 0.3 percentage points for both years.
It is expecting 0.2 percent growth this year and 1.3 percent next year, the IMF report said.
These forecasts are below the estimates of 0.8 percent for this year and 1.5 percent for next year for the eurozone, showing that Germany has become a laggard in the bloc.
It was also the only major economy to suffer a contraction last year.
Lindner said Germany’s economic weakness has consequences for security and geopolitics.
“We need the economic turnaround, because in the end, economic strength is also a factor in geopolitics,” Lindner said at Additional reporting by Reuters
It was late morning and steam was rising from water tanks atop the colorful, but opaque-windowed, “soapland” sex parlors in a historic Tokyo red-light district. Walking through the narrow streets, camera in hand, was Beniko — a former sex worker who is trying to capture the spirit of the area once known as Yoshiwara through photography. “People often talk about this neighborhood having a ‘bad history,’” said Beniko, who goes by her nickname. “But the truth is that through the years people have lived here, made a life here, sometimes struggled to survive. I want to share that reality.” In its mid-17th to
‘MAKE OR BREAK’: Nvidia shares remain down more than 9 percent, but investors are hoping CEO Jensen Huang’s speech can stave off fears that the sales boom is peaking Shares in Nvidia Corp’s Taiwanese suppliers mostly closed higher yesterday on hopes that the US artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer would showcase next-generation technologies at its annual AI conference slated to open later in the day. The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in California is to feature developers, engineers, researchers, inventors and information technology professionals, and would focus on AI, computer graphics, data science, machine learning and autonomous machines. The event comes at a make-or-break moment for the firm, as it heads into the next few quarters, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech today seen as having the ability to
The battle for artificial intelligence supremacy hinges on microchips, but the semiconductor sector that produces them has a dirty secret: It is a major source of chemicals linked to cancer and other health problems. Global chip sales surged more than 19 percent to about US$628 billion last year, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association, which forecasts double-digit growth again this year. That is adding urgency to reducing the effects of “forever chemicals” — which are also used to make firefighting foam, nonstick pans, raincoats and other everyday items — as are regulators in the US and Europe who are beginning to
NEXT GENERATION: The company also showcased automated machines, including a nursing robot called Nurabot, which is to enter service at a Taichung hospital this year Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) expects server revenue to exceed its iPhone revenue within two years, with the possibility of achieving this goal as early as this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said on Tuesday at Nvidia Corp’s annual technology conference in San Jose, California. AI would be the primary focus this year for the company, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), as rapidly advancing AI applications are driving up demand for AI servers, Liu said. The production and shipment of Nvidia’s GB200 chips and the anticipated launch of GB300 chips in the second half of the year would propel
RSS