interview
As of: 09/20/2021 12:53 p.m.
The expanded DAX should be younger and more modern. But will it make it easier for innovative company founders in Germany? BioNTech investor Motschmann comments in the tagesschau.de-Interview doubts.
tagesschau.de: The leading index DAX should now, expanded to 40 companies, be more broadly positioned and more modern for the future. Is everything alright now?
Michael Motschmann: It’s a step in the right direction. Heavyweights like Airbus are added, but also growth companies like Zalando or Hellofresh. The latter two are, however, companies from the Internet trade. These are e-commerce platforms. I miss technology companies that advance goods and services with their research. These are always long-term developments, but they should be pushed now. We urgently need more successful start-ups in Germany that are also developing on the stock exchange. But there is still a long way to go.
To person
Michael Motschmann works on the board of MIG Capital AG in Munich. The company finances founders and young companies. So far, more than 600 million euros have been invested in young companies – including the corona vaccine manufacturer BioNTech. Motschmann was one of the first investors to financially support the Mainz biotechnology company. He then became a member of the BioNTech supervisory board.
Tough competition from the USA and Asia
tagesschau.de: What does that mean for the location?
Motschmann: There is a structural weakness here. We should tackle them quickly. Our competitors in the international markets and the competition in the USA or China are strategically driving key technologies forward. Politicians there rely heavily on future fields such as artificial intelligence, software solutions or biotechnology. There is also potential in Germany. But they have been neglected over the past 30 years.
tagesschau.de: What is the US doing better?
Motschmann: Historically, the United States has had a very different equity culture. The willingness to take risks is higher. There are also special specialists at banks, insurance companies and investors who have medical or scientific training. They quickly recognize potential and opportunities. These structures once existed in Germany. However, due to the disaster on the Neuer Markt in 2003, these departments were almost completely dismantled. We have to go back there to better connect investors with promising companies.
Shopping tours in the digital future of business
tagesschau.de: Is that also the reason why BioNTech is listed on the Nasdaq in New York and not on the DAX?
Motschmann: Definitely yes.
tagesschau.de: What chances are being left behind here in Germany?
Motschmann: Foreign companies from the USA, but also from China, are exploiting a great deal of this potential. They attract scientists and idea generators or buy into entire companies. This is currently happening a lot in e-commerce and digitization.
Discussion about retirement provision
tagesschau.de: What can politics do about it?
Motschmann: A lot of things have to be made much easier in terms of taxation for founders and investors alike. We should give more support to experts who are willing to take risks and are willing to set up a business – for example with less bureaucracy and better access to capital. This is how we keep the potential in the country. But there should also be a lot going on socially. Against the background of the ongoing zero interest rate policy, private investments in stocks are necessary, for example with regard to old-age provision. This has long been a successful standard in many countries. In general, equity ownership in Germany has to become much more attractive.
tagesschau.de: In your opinion, do these topics appear sufficiently in the debates on the Bundestag election?
Motschmann: Far too little takes place there. The problems at the location are hardly reflected in the election campaign. We urgently need economic renewal – and not just with regard to the climate. The future will lie in robotics and artificial intelligence, for example. A political and social rethinking has to take place here. There is a lot of talk about the further expansion of the welfare state, but hardly about developing competitive future products.