Finance Minister: Germany Needs an Economic Turnaround

27 April 2024, Berlin: Christian Lindner, Germany's Chairman of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and Finance Minister, speaks during the 75th Ordinary FDP Party Conference. Photo: Hannes P. Albert/dpa
27 April 2024, Berlin: Christian Lindner, Germany's Chairman of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and Finance Minister, speaks during the 75th Ordinary FDP Party Conference. Photo: Hannes P. Albert/dpa
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Finance Minister: Germany Needs an Economic Turnaround

27 April 2024, Berlin: Christian Lindner, Germany's Chairman of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and Finance Minister, speaks during the 75th Ordinary FDP Party Conference. Photo: Hannes P. Albert/dpa
27 April 2024, Berlin: Christian Lindner, Germany's Chairman of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and Finance Minister, speaks during the 75th Ordinary FDP Party Conference. Photo: Hannes P. Albert/dpa

Germany needs an economic turnaround in order to secure its geopolitical position, German Finance Minister and head of the Free Democrats FDP Christian Lindner said on Saturday.
The German economy was the weakest among its large euro zone peers last year, as high energy costs, feeble global orders and record high interest rates took their toll.
This year will also be challenging for Europe's biggest economy, Reuters reported.
In its World Economic Outlook, the International Monetary Fund has cut its forecasts for German gross domestic product by 0.3 percentage points for both years, expecting 0.2% growth this year and 1.3% in 2025.
These forecasts are below the estimates of 0.8% for 2024 and 1.5% for 2025 for the euro zone, showing that Germany has become a laggard in the bloc, after being the only major economy to suffer a contraction last year.
Lindner said Germany's economic weakness has consequences for security and geopolitics.
"We need the economic turnaround because, in the end, economic strength is also a factor in geopolitics," Lindner said at his party's conference in Berlin, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine.
"Putin's goal is to exert power over us, and we must never allow that to happen," he said. But to have the necessary means against it, economic growth is needed, he said.



Dubai's Emaar in Talks with Indian Groups, including Adani, to Sell Stake in Local Business

The logo of Dubai's Emaar Properties on a building under construction in Dubai, UAE, March 3, 2016. (Reuters)
The logo of Dubai's Emaar Properties on a building under construction in Dubai, UAE, March 3, 2016. (Reuters)
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Dubai's Emaar in Talks with Indian Groups, including Adani, to Sell Stake in Local Business

The logo of Dubai's Emaar Properties on a building under construction in Dubai, UAE, March 3, 2016. (Reuters)
The logo of Dubai's Emaar Properties on a building under construction in Dubai, UAE, March 3, 2016. (Reuters)

Emaar Properties, Dubai's largest listed real estate firm, is in talks with "a few groups" in India including Adani Group to sell a stake of its Indian business, it said on Thursday.

The builder of the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, and other iconic parts of Dubai, said in a statement that the valuation and other terms of a potential deal were not finalized, without adding further details, Reuters reported.

The statement followed media reports on Wednesday stating that Adani Realty, the real estate unit of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani's Adani Enterprise, was in advanced talks to acquire a majority stake in Emaar India.

Emaar started its operations in the country in 2005 and has a portfolio of residential and commercial properties in Gurugram, Mohali, Lucknow, Jaipur and Indore, according to its website.

Besides India, it operates internationally in other markets including Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and the US.