The German industry will not like to read about it, but US and Chinese digital companies are currently at the top of the world’s most valuable companies . According to the consultants’ analysis, Apple, Amazon, and the Google parent company, Alphabet, are leading the ranking, followed by Microsoft, Facebook, and Alibaba. The stock market value of these companies has increased by around 500 billion euros in the current year alone. An example shows the ratios. Up to now, Amazon has enjoyed an increase in value of $240 billion in 2018. That’s what the two most valuable German companies, SAP and Siemens, currently value combined. On the world’s top 100 list, they occupy the 58th and 73rd place.

"Digitalization is currently the most important megatrend and European corporations seem to be rather the hunted than the hunters," stated Hubert Barth of EY Germany. Half a year ago, six German companies were still in the top 100. Now, with Bayer in 84th place, there are only three left. European corporations seem to have rarely been able to provide investors with a convincing model for the future, Barth continues.

Back in October 2017, the industry association, Bitkom, announced that the digital industry was for the first time the largest industrial employer in Germany , "ahead of leading industries such as mechanical engineering or automotive engineering." Another development should be given some attention. While German companies with Industry 4.0 competence are a sought-after purchase object, Germans are not as offensive abroad, reports F.A.Z . The number of acquisitions by German companies abroad has been lower than that of foreign companies acquiring German companies for years.