German firms abroad more optimistic than those at home about coming months – survey

BERLIN (Reuters) – German companies abroad remain mostly optimistic about business in the coming months despite nearly half of them expecting an economic downturn, according to a survey.

Nearly 40% of the companies expect better business in the coming year while 42% see the current situation as unchanged, according to the AHK World Business Outlook, a survey of 3,100 German companies active abroad, that was published on Thursday.

While companies are feeling the strained global economy, “depending on their respective international markets … they find stable, if not even advantageous conditions, which in turn give confidence,” said Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) head of foreign trade Volker Treier.

That compares with only 8% of companies in Germany saying they expect better business, while 52% saying they expect it to become worse, according to the DIHK’s autumn survey.

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