AHK World Business Outlook Spring 2023: German companies abroad show positivity

German companies are more positive about the future at their international locations than they were in autumn 2022 – but with very subdued optimism. This is shown by the current AHK World Business Outlook.

The main results of the survey:

• With a view to the economic development at their respective international locations, the companies expecting a plus for the next twelve months (28 percent) and those expecting a minus (27 percent) are in balance.
• A variety of risks cloud the economic outlook: The top three include the shortage of skilled workers (40 percent, an all-time high), economic policy conditions (39 percent), and demand (38 percent). But risks associated with high-interest rate increases and recurring uncertainties in the financial markets, such as exchange rate fluctuations (28 percent) and financing (25 percent), also remain at a high level by long-term standards.
• Added to this are long-term geopolitical challenges, which companies see particularly in inflation/money policy (54 percent), increasing political influence on supply chains (40 percent), raw material and energy supply security (37 percent), and fragmentation of the global economy (34 percent).
• Despite the challenges, companies are showing resilience: one in two assess their current business situation as good, and 47 percent expect better business in the coming twelve months.

You can download the complete survey here >>>

The AHK World Business Outlook is based on a regular DIHK survey of member companies of the German Chambers of Commerce Abroad, Delegations, and Representative Offices (AHKs).