Policymakers in Berlin are drawing up plans for a technology investment fund to protect its homegrown market leaders from Chinese acquisition bids, a government source told Reuters.
The issue caught the attention of the government when Chinese white-goods firm Midea unexpectedly took over German robotics Kuka in 2016, and earlier this year carmaker Daimler sold a 9.7% stake to China’s Geely.
Chinese companies executed 30 acquisitions in 2017, twice that of the previous year. The billion-euro fund would provide financial backing to firms that find themselves in financial trouble and vulnerable to aggressive buyout offers.
“China is working diligently to close technology gaps and dominate the world market with new technologies,” the source said. “This is an issue that we are working on very intensely.”