By Rebecca Waters
Housing the European Central Bank and the German Federal Bank,
Frankfurt am Main is one of the leading financial centres in Europe. It
is also one of the top three cities for international companies on the
continent and one of the two largest financial centres in Continental
Europe, making it an ideal place for any company to do business.
One of Frankfurt’s main strengths is the diversity of the
companies based there and the dense networks of sectors, which benefit
from the city’s international focus. Currently, 56,300 companies
operate in Frankfurt, ranging from big industrial groups to small
software developers. The city is also the headquarters of the Frankfurt
Stock Exchange and the Frankfurt Trade Fair, as well as several large
commercial banks.
INDUSTRY
One of the burgeoning business sectors in Frankfurt is IT and
Communications, and for a number of years, the city has occupied an
outstanding position as a telecommunications hub and a European centre
for Internet traffic and services. About 90 telecommunications
infrastructure providers are headquartered in the city, which is the
highest concentration in the state of Hessen. Frankfurt also has the
second highest concentration of datacentres in Europe.
New developments in the biotechnology sector are also opening
up other significant opportunities for business and around 100 life
science and biotechnology companies are already based in the city.
According to Frankfurt’s official website, www.frankfurt.de, ‘a varied training and research the ideal basis for research and development’.
FIZ, the Frankfurt Biotechnology Innovation Center, is a
“central module in the development of South Hesse as one of the leading
bioregions of Europe,” says Roland Koch, Prime Minister of Hesse, “and
has rapidly become an important address for innovation, research, and
economic growth in Frankfurt am Main and Hesse.”
According to the Center’s official website, FIZ “offers an
optimal infrastructure and individually tailored office and laboratory
space for the economic support of the products and services of both new
and established businesses in the area of life sciences. In addition,
the FIZ Innovation Cluster offers access to leading chemical and
pharmaceutical industries, as well as to other research clusters,
thereby supporting efficient technology transfer.”
A GROWING ECONOMY
Further growth will be also be driven by Finance and Banking and
the Logistics industries, says Claudia Sorger-Jopp, of the Frankfurt am
Main Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Currently, over 70,000 financial
experts run the banking and stock exchange worlds in Frankfurt, which
is the centre of operation for a number of major credit institutions,
including CEIOPS, Deutsche Börse AG, Deutsche Bundesbank (German FED),
BaFin (financial services supervisory body) and the Asian Development
Bank, as well as a number of other credit institutions.
The FrankfurtRhineMain region is also a hub for European travel
and goods traffic. Frankfurt has a good network of transport services
and routes, which ensure fast connections and optimum access to all
major world markets. For instance, Frankfurt Airport is one of the most
important hubs in the world, connecting Frankfurt am Main with 307
destinations in 109 countries. Specifically, the city’s central
position means that passengers and cargo can reach any destination in
Europe in under three hours.
In addition, Frankfurt Central Station is one of the largest
terminal stations in Europe and houses Deutsche Bahn’s high-speed
network, while Frankfurter Kreuz is Germany’s busiest interstate
interchange.
POST-RECESSION
With Germany officially out of recession, business in Frankfurt
is predicted to flourish as a result; according to the city’s official
website, over 13,000 companies registered for the first time and about
10,500 companies deregistered in 2008. This leaves a positive balance
of about 2,500 companies, which shows that the Frankfurt economy is
growing.
Global trade and international investment will also increase,
Sorger-Jopp says, which “are among the most important prerequisites for
growth, employment and prosperity.” Already Frankfurt has a large
international business community, with over a fifth of the companies
and about a third of the inhabitants coming from other countries; in
particular, the city has a strong Korean, Indian and Chinese community.
Not only do these foreign investors enrich the location with their
experience and know-how, they contribute to an international living and
working atmosphere, therefore making Frankfurt an ideal international
business location.
THE FACTS
TOTAL AREA: 248.31 km²
POPULATION: 676,197 (Q3 2008)
OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: German (although English is widely spoken)
CURRENCY: Euros (€)
TIMEZONE: CEST
CALLING CODE: +69
FLIGHTS:
UK Direct Flights: Fly from London Heathrow to Frankfurt
International Airport with British Airways and Lufthansa. Flights take
approximately 2.5 hours.
US Direct Flights: Fly from JFK International Airport,
New York to Frankfurt International Airport with Delta Airlines,
Lufthansa and United Airlines. Flights take between 7.5 to 8.5 hours.
