BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s IT and telecommunication (ITC) sector is expected to speed up its growth this year and clearly outperform Germany’s ailing economy, a study by German digital association Bitkom showed on Wednesday.
According to the study, the sector’s revenues are expected to rise by 4.4% to 224.3 billion euros ($245.09 billion), compared to a 2.0% increase last year.
“Even under difficult economic conditions, characterised by geopolitical crises and budget cuts, sales and employment (within the sector) are increasing,” said Bitkom President Ralf Wintergerst.
The industry’s predicted growth for this year is, however, slow in comparison to other countries, including India, seen up 7.9%, the U.S. expected to increase 6.3% and China, estimated to grow 5.7%.
“In order for Germany to catch up in terms of digitalization, companies and administrations need to ramp up their investments more decisively,” Wintergerst said, urging the government to put digitalization and economic growth at the centre of its policies.
According to estimates of the International Monetary Fund, Germany’s economy as a whole is expected to grow only 0.9% in 2024, which remains well below the average of 1.4% for advanced economies.
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($1 = 0.9152 euros)
(Reporting by Klaus Lauer, Writing by Nette Nöstlinger, Editing by Linda Pasquini and Madeline Chambers)