Strathspey
Registered User
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I had to eat humble pie this weekend. I had always assumed that the world's biggest exporter had to be China or America. Germany would certainly not have been at the top my list, but google certainly confirms this fact.
Can we then assume that Germany is running the world's largest trade surplus. In this case how is it possible then, that China sits on the biggest pile of cash?
... Mexico, Brazil, The Phillipines, and on, and on ...... German factories in Easter Europe etc.
In this case how is it possible then, that China sits on the biggest pile of cash?
... Mexico, Brazil, The Phillipines, and on, and on ...
All the money is in China and the Middle East.
Germany being the biggest exporter has figured large on my radar for the last few years so this is not news to me. The engine of the German economy is its SME sector (up to 500 employees). Most of them service the B2B (business to business) market. That means the special extractors for the mine in Bolivia, the chemical used in the production of a particular plastic, the HMI for a specific type of power plant etc etc. In other works high value added, niche manufacturing where the value-add is vastly in excess of the unit price... exactly the sort of thing we should have been doing for the last 15 years instead of building bloody houses.
Another interesting thing about German businesses is that by the third generation their family owned businesses are most likely in Europe of North America to be run by non family members. This makes them the most likely to last into third and fourth generation ownership. The UK is the country most likely to pass the running of family businesses to the eldest son and those businesses are the least likely in Europe or North America to last into the third generation.
All the money is in China and the Middle East.
Germany being the biggest exporter has figured large on my radar for the last few years so this is not news to me. The engine of the German economy is its SME sector (up to 500 employees). Most of them service the B2B (business to business) market. That means the special extractors for the mine in Bolivia, the chemical used in the production of a particular plastic, the HMI for a specific type of power plant etc etc. In other works high value added, niche manufacturing where the value-add is vastly in excess of the unit price... exactly the sort of thing we should have been doing for the last 15 years instead of building bloody houses.
Another interesting thing about German businesses is that by the third generation their family owned businesses are most likely in Europe of North America to be run by non family members. This makes them the most likely to last into third and fourth generation ownership. The UK is the country most likely to pass the running of family businesses to the eldest son and those businesses are the least likely in Europe or North America to last into the third generation.
German Mittelstand companies employ around 70% of German workers and account for around 40-45% (I don't have the figures to hand) of all German exports.
I agree with most of this, except the point that the engine of German economy is its SMEs. It's more like the large to extremely large companies that produce the vast majority of goods and service exports.
German Mittelstand companies employ around 70% of German workers and account for around 40-45% (I don't have the figures to hand) of all German exports.
Not quite the same thing though, is it?Those figures sound about right and they point out exactly what I was saying. The remaining 30% of employed people in Germany, minus public sector workers, would be responsible for the majority of exports (50+%).
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