{"id":3783,"date":"2018-12-20T09:10:36","date_gmt":"2018-12-20T07:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/honert.de\/review-of-foreign-investments-experiences-since-2017-and-further-tightening-as-of-2019\/"},"modified":"2019-09-05T10:05:53","modified_gmt":"2019-09-05T08:05:53","slug":"review-of-foreign-investments-experiences-since-2017-and-further-tightening-as-of-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/review-of-foreign-investments-experiences-since-2017-and-further-tightening-as-of-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW OF FOREIGN INVESTMENTS: EXPERIENCES SINCE 2017 AND FURTHER TIGHTENING AS OF 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-i6lytw-424cc90dfbbd67fca203d0b05a76d89c\">\n.avia-section.av-i6lytw-424cc90dfbbd67fca203d0b05a76d89c{\nbackground-repeat:no-repeat;\nbackground-image:url(https:\/\/honert.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/3629.jpg);\nbackground-position:0% 0%;\nbackground-attachment:scroll;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div id='av_section_1'  class='avia-section av-i6lytw-424cc90dfbbd67fca203d0b05a76d89c main_color avia-section-default avia-no-shadow  avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_section  avia-builder-el-first  hide_on_print avia-full-stretch avia-bg-style-scroll av-minimum-height av-minimum-height-40 av-height-40  container_wrap sidebar_right'  data-section-bg-repeat='stretch' data-av_minimum_height_pc='40' data-av_min_height_opt='40'><div class='container av-section-cont-open' ><main  role=\"main\" itemprop=\"mainContentOfPage\"  class='template-page content  av-content-small alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-3783'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n<\/div><\/div><\/main><!-- close content main element --><\/div><\/div><div id='av_section_2'  class='avia-section av-1lq9qc-3d128ed95e3ff7f7ddfb1b3059666a1f main_color avia-section-default avia-no-shadow  avia-builder-el-1  el_after_av_section  avia-builder-el-last  avia-bg-style-scroll container_wrap sidebar_right'  ><div class='container av-section-cont-open' ><div class='template-page content  av-content-small alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-3783'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-dgcmys-7ea4f615bd5ab01d9d71e3f5392f731c\">\n.flex_column.av-dgcmys-7ea4f615bd5ab01d9d71e3f5392f731c{\nborder-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;\npadding:0px 0px 0px 0px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='flex_column av-dgcmys-7ea4f615bd5ab01d9d71e3f5392f731c av_two_third  avia-builder-el-2  el_before_av_two_third  avia-builder-el-first  first flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding  '     ><style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-k06d3l4e-f642cad8a6f3c5bbe512e6c718ed6099\">\n#top .av-special-heading.av-k06d3l4e-f642cad8a6f3c5bbe512e6c718ed6099{\npadding-bottom:10px;\n}\nbody .av-special-heading.av-k06d3l4e-f642cad8a6f3c5bbe512e6c718ed6099 .av-special-heading-tag .heading-char{\nfont-size:25px;\n}\n.av-special-heading.av-k06d3l4e-f642cad8a6f3c5bbe512e6c718ed6099 .av-subheading{\nfont-size:15px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='av-special-heading av-k06d3l4e-f642cad8a6f3c5bbe512e6c718ed6099 av-special-heading-h1 blockquote modern-quote  avia-builder-el-3  avia-builder-el-no-sibling '><div class='av-subheading av-subheading_above'>20. December 2018\n<\/div><h1 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >REVIEW OF FOREIGN INVESTMENTS: EXPERIENCES SINCE 2017 AND FURTHER TIGHTENING AS OF 2019<\/h1><div class=\"special-heading-border\"><div class=\"special-heading-inner-border\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-bxawdg-aebddb2ab4da1c603214e8d93a8803f6\">\n.flex_column.av-bxawdg-aebddb2ab4da1c603214e8d93a8803f6{\nborder-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;\npadding:0px 0px 0px 0px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='flex_column av-bxawdg-aebddb2ab4da1c603214e8d93a8803f6 av_two_third  avia-builder-el-4  el_after_av_two_third  el_before_av_two_third  first flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding  column-top-margin'     ><section  class='av_textblock_section av-k06d43mo-abfed4d9e274a2c3d0e978d16f248747 '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p><strong>Following the extension of the scope of the review of foreign investments in Germany in July 2017, the German Federal Cabinet [<em>Bundeskabinett<\/em>] has resolved on another tightening of the scope of investment reviews on December 19, 2018. In addition, an EU-wide legislative procedure in this field is about to be finalized.<\/strong><!--more--><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-bke7z8-89d6139861f7b44803cf401c6eaf323f\">\n.flex_column.av-bke7z8-89d6139861f7b44803cf401c6eaf323f{\nborder-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;\npadding:0px 0px 0px 0px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='flex_column av-bke7z8-89d6139861f7b44803cf401c6eaf323f av_two_third  avia-builder-el-6  el_after_av_two_third  el_before_av_one_third  first flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding  column-top-margin'     ><section  class='av_textblock_section av-k06d6sfp-f32fb691ca2ff86b9ba385620d9d0233 '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop=\"text\" ><h2>I. More than 80 reviews and two interventions by the Federal Government since stricter regulations came into force in July 2017<\/h2>\n<p>According to the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy [<em>Bundesministerium f\u00fcr Wirtschaft und Energie \u2013 BMWiE<\/em>], as per end of August 2018 more than 80 transactions have been reviewed since the stricter rules on the review of foreign investments came into force in July 2017, which extended the duty to report transactions and the possibility of reviewing foreign investments also to certain areas of the civil sector (cf. our newsletter article on this subject dated 26 September 2017). According to the BMWiE, Chinese investors were directly or indirectly involved in more than 33 % of the cases. The Federal Government intervened in two cases: the Kreditanstalt f\u00fcr Wiederaufbau (KfW \u2013 the promotional bank of the Federal State of Germany) acquired a 20 % stake in the German electricity transmission grid operator 50Hertz, in which the State Grid Corporation of China was interested; in another case, the acquisition of Leifeld Metal Spinning AG (a manufacturer of high-strength materials for the aerospace and nuclear industries) by a French company with a controlling Chinese shareholder, which was finally not consummated, would have been prohibited due to safety concerns.<\/p>\n<h2>II. Further tightening of the scope of investment reviews in Germany in 2019<\/h2>\n<p>On 19 December 2018 the German Federal Cabinet has resolved on the 12th Ordinance to amend the German Foreign Trade and Payment Ordinance [<em>Au\u00dfenwirtschaftsverordnung &#8211; AWV<\/em>] in order to further extend and tighten the scope for review of foreign investments in Germany; this may lead to a significantly higher number of transactions being subject to review. It follows a resolution by the German Federal Council (<em>Bundesrat<\/em>) passed in April 2018 already calling for a reduction of the current 25 % &#8211; threshold for the review of foreign investments without, however, proposing a specific threshold. Upon entry into force of the 12th Ordinance amending the AWV, the threshold for the review of investments will be lowered form 25 % to 10 % for investments in companies (i) in the military sector (\u00a7 60 AWV) and (ii) in the civil critical infrastructure sector (companies falling into one of the categories of the catalogue in \u00a7 55 para. 1 sentence 2 AWV). Furthermore, the catalogue\/categories in \u00a7 55 para 1 sentence 2 AWV will be amended by certain media companies due to the concern that national media companies may be used for disinformation campaigns. The threshold of 25 % shall continue to apply to investments in companies in the civil sector that do not fall under \u00a7 55 para 1 sentence 2 AWV but are, nevertheless, relevant for the \u201cpublic safety and order\u201d.<\/p>\n<h2>III. New efforts at EU level and at national level in Germany<\/h2>\n<p>The European legislative initiative to review foreign investments (COM (2017) 487 final) initiated by Germany, France and Italy in 2017 and introduced by the European Commission (cf. our newsletter article on this subject dated 26 September 2017) is said to have made considerable progress. According to a statement by the BMWiE of 21 November 2018, a compromise was reached between the parties involved in the legislative process on 20 November 2018, which still has to be formally adopted by the Council and the European Parliament. Henceforth, the intervention against state-directed or state-financed strategic investments shall be facilitated, amongst others by clarifying also on a European level that critical infrastructures, critical technologies, security of supply as well as access to and control of sensitive data are relevant for the &#8220;public safety and order&#8221; of a country. The BMWiE hopes that the European legislative procedure will be completed before the end of 2018.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-986ggk-3264b85011e94503ea7cda5ed2f7c6b5\">\n.flex_column.av-986ggk-3264b85011e94503ea7cda5ed2f7c6b5{\nborder-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;\npadding:7px 0px 0px 0px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='flex_column av-986ggk-3264b85011e94503ea7cda5ed2f7c6b5 av_one_third  avia-builder-el-8  el_after_av_two_third  avia-builder-el-last  sy-only-desktop hide_on_print flex_column_div  column-top-margin'     ><p><div  class='avia-builder-widget-area clearfix  avia-builder-el-9  el_before_av_textblock  avia-builder-el-first '><section id=\"categories-3\" class=\"widget clearfix widget_categories\"><h3 class=\"widgettitle\">Newsletter issues<\/h3>\n\t\t\t<ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-272\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2026-q1\/\">2026 Q1<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-267\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2025-q4-en\/\">2025 Q4<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-265\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2025-q3-en\/\">2025 Q3<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-263\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2025-q2-en\/\">2025 Q2<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-261\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2025-q1-en\/\">2025 Q1<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-254\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2024-q4-en\/\">2024 Q4<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-250\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2024-q3-en\/\">2024 Q3<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-242\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2024-q2-en\/\">2024 Q2<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-238\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2024-q1-en\/\">2024 Q1<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-227\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2023-q4-en\/\">2023 Q4<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-208\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2023-q2-en\/\">2023 Q2<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-206\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2023-q1-en\/\">2023 Q1<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-193\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2022-q4-en\/\">2022 Q4<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-184\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2022-q3-en\/\">2022 Q3<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-182\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2022-q2-en\/\">2022 Q2<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-177\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2022-q1-en\/\">2022 Q1<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-175\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2021-q4-en\/\">2021 Q4<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-173\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2021-q3-en\/\">2021 Q3<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-171\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2021-q2-en\/\">2021 Q2<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-169\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2021-q1-en\/\">2021 Q1<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-167\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2020-q4-en\/\">2020 Q4<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-162\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2020-q3-en\/\">2020 Q3<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-160\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2020-q2-en\/\">2020 Q2<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-158\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2020-q1-en\/\">2020 Q1<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-156\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2019-q4-en\/\">2019 Q4<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-150\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2019-q3-en\/\">2019 Q3<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-138\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2019-q2-en\/\">2019 Q2<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-140\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2019-q1-en\/\">2019 Q1<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-144\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2018-q4-en\/\">2018 Q4<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-146\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2018-q3-en\/\">2018 Q3<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-136\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2018-q2-en\/\">2018 Q2<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-128\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2018-q1-en\/\">2018 Q1<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-126\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2017-q4-en\/\">2017 Q4<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-116\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2017-q3-en\/\">2017 Q3<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-114\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/2017-q2-en\/\">2017 Q2<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-142\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/deals-en\/\">Deal Announcements<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-58\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/category\/uncategorized\/\">Uncategorized<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\n\t\t\t<span class=\"seperator extralight-border\"><\/span><\/section><\/div><br \/>\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-nd4p0-443c0771834502818e8f6e56422091b5 '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop=\"text\" ><h2>More information on this topic<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"sy-list-margin\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/taetigkeitsgebiete\/mergers-acquisitions\/\">Mergers &#038; Acquisitions (M&#038;A)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/taetigkeitsgebiete\/corporate-law\/\">Corporate Law<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/section><br \/>\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-fws78-327c59e4a250b96ba0ddc2cf98d09d44\">\n#top .hr.hr-invisible.av-fws78-327c59e4a250b96ba0ddc2cf98d09d44{\nheight:8px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='hr av-fws78-327c59e4a250b96ba0ddc2cf98d09d44 hr-invisible  avia-builder-el-11  el_after_av_textblock  el_before_av_textblock '><span class='hr-inner '><span class=\"hr-inner-style\"><\/span><\/span><\/div><br \/>\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-25cxjo-1b928d2602fbb22f390f9bddb738e9d2 '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock hide_on_print'  itemprop=\"text\" ><h2>Downloads<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"#\" onclick=\"window.print();return false\">Print<\/a><br \/>\n\n\n\n\t<div class=\"dkpdf-button-container\" style=\" text-align:left \">\n\n\t\t<a class=\"dkpdf-button\" href=\"\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3783?pdf=3783\" target=\"_blank\"><span class=\"dkpdf-button-icon\"><i class=\"fa fa-file-pdf-o\"><\/i><\/span> Download (PDF)<\/a>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><!-- close content main div --><\/div><\/div><div id='after_section_2'  class='main_color av_default_container_wrap container_wrap sidebar_right'  ><div class='container av-section-cont-open' ><div class='template-page content  av-content-small alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-3783'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Following the extension of the scope of the review of foreign investments in Germany in July 2017, the German Federal Cabinet [Bundeskabinett] has resolved on another tightening of the scope of investment reviews on December 19, 2018. In addition, an EU-wide legislative procedure in this field is about to be finalized.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[144,144],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2018-q4-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3783"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3783\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3801,"href":"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3783\/revisions\/3801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/honert.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}