German Firms Conspicuous in ExhibitionGermany prided itself on being the largest exhibition group at the Metal and Metallurgy China Show which began its five-day run on Tuesday in Beijing.Foreign exhibitors have about 50 per cent of the 25,000-square-metre exhibition area with Germany's 34 companies accounting for 12 per cent of the total, according to sources with the German Machinery and Plant Manufacturers' Association. With an annual production as high as 11 billion German marks (US$5.05 billion), Germany's metallurgical industry contributes about 4 billion marks (US$1.83 billion), or 22 per cent, of the world's total metallurgical exports each year, said a spokesman with the association. Asia, with annual imports of 1.2 billion marks (US$550 million) worth of metallurgical machinery and equipment from the country, now ranks as Germany's second largest consumer, after Europe, of metallurgical products. Some 23 per cent of Germany's metallurgical exports to Asia, about 226 million marks (US$103.67 million), was channelled into the China market in 1998. The metallurgical exports to China helped Germany the country turn around the negative effectf of the Asian financial crisis last year with an increase of more than 80 per cent to about 500 million marks (US$229.36 million), said the spokesman. He expects the buoyant trend to continue in the next several years. |
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