LocationsIt was launched 25 years ago
German Centre for Industry and Trade GmbH (German Centre GmbH) celebrated its 25th anniversary on 28 November 2018. The member of LBBW group was created as a holding and service company to turn the idea of the German Centres into reality. The German Centres provide German companies with local and practical assistance when entering a foreign market. LBBW’s first German Centre opened in Singapore in 1995, followed by others in Beijing, Mexico City and Moscow.
In addition to the duties of a holding company, German Centre GmbH is also the licensor of the German Centre brand. “This way we ensure that the brand promise of the German Centres is consistent and of comparable quality,” says Gabriele Greiner, Managing Director of German Centre GmbH since 2011. In Germany, the company is also an interface for German companies and the German Centre network.
“The German Centres have established themselves as a renowned brand, a solid launch pad and a reliable partner for German companies in the respective economic regions. It’s still about direct networking between tenants, trade association representatives, companies and local business partners under one roof. This is precisely the benefit that was hoped for 25 years ago,” explains Dr. Christian Ricken, member of LBBW’s Board of Managing Directors in charge of International Business.
From Singapore to the German Centre network
In the early 1990s, German companies, in particular from the mechanical engineering industry, increasingly began to see the Southeast Asian region as a potential sales market and production location. To support German companies venturing into new markets, representatives from the world of politics, business and the finance industry came up with the idea of creating a plattform offering a wide range of services to assist them. Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe saw this as a good opportunity to accompany its corporate customers and lend them practical support in their international activities.
German Centre GmbH was founded on 28 November 1993 to turn the idea of the German Centres into reality. After thorough location and feasibility studies, Singapore was chosen as the hub for Southeast Asia. Building on the success of this project, the German Centre network has continued to grow over time. There are currently four German Centres of LBBW in Moscow, Mexico City, Beijing and Singapore. BayernLB has German Centres in Shanghai and Taicang.
“Obviously we can’t match LBBW’s 200-year history. However, our German Centres have around 120 years of combined market experience in China, Mexico, Russia and Singapore. In all German Centres, we connect people, know-how and business experience on the respective markets. As distances in a German Centre are short and access to relevant networks easy, communication is unpretentious and quick,” says Gabriele Greiner. The six German Centres around the world currently have more than 600 tenants from all industries and German federal states. In total, the German Centres have supported around 2,000 tenant companies enter the international markets since they were launched.
LBBW – working for its customers worldwide
LBBW offers a broad international network to provide its domestic customers and Sparkasse customers – especially the Mittelstand – with local support in their international activities. LBBW is represented at 17 locations worldwide. LBBW offers a comprehensive range of products and services covering such aspects as foreign trade and export finance, payment solutions or currency hedging.
A detailed interview with Gabriele Greiner can be read on German Centre-network website at https://www.germancentre.com/en/news
More information about the German Centres at https://www.germancentre.com/en or on LinkedIn.
