Germany's Merz touts defence, AI and chip investment drive in pitch to investors (updated)

NVIDIA

Tue 10:03

Adds Merz comments, companies' spending pledges in paragraphs 4-6
BERLIN, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Germany is investing heavily in sectors including defence, semiconductors and AI to boost its long-term productivity and economic sovereignty, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday as he pitched Europe's largest economy to investors.    
"Our goal is to create the best possible parameters for you," Merz said at the event in Berlin, pledging to cut red tape, speed up approvals and upgrade infrastructure.
Merz is seeking to attract investment by emerging industries as high costs, red tape and a sluggish recovery weigh on Germany's traditional industrial base.
Firms in attendance included lithium and renewable energy firm Vulcan Energy and defence company Helsing.
The economy ministry said companies including Amazon AMZN.O and Nvidia NVDA.O pledged more than €225 billion ($252 billion) as part of the summit. 
In a swipe at the far-left leader seeking to become mayor of Berlin, Elif Eralp, who has pledged to expropriate corporate landlords, Merz said property rights underpinned Germany's economic order and "are not to be tampered with".
Germany is already seeing positive economic effects from its policies, said Merz, pointing to stronger growth, rising foreign direct investment and increased startup creation.
He highlighted the Made for Germany initiative, under which German companies have pledged to invest over €800 billion ($898.40 billion) by 2028.
Merz said deeper European economic integration would help companies tap the European Union's single market and pledged to introduce EU Inc., a harmonised European corporate framework, as soon as possible.
Germany aims to quadruple its artificial intelligence computing capacity by 2030 as part of a broader push to strengthen technological competitiveness, he added.
Merz said he was personally "engaged on the European level" to ensure AI regulation "is opening the door and not closing the door before it happens."
     
     
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(Reporting by Miranda Murray
Editing by Ludwig Burger, Kirsti Knolle, Alexandra Hudson)
((Miranda.Murray@thomsonreuters.com;))