Capital market: Germany as a developing country

 "So far, successful growth stocks like BioNTech have been going public in America. Germany has a long way to go to change that. One idea would be to reintroduce tax exemption on price gains of shares. 

The corona pandemic has brought biotech companies and especially their vaccine research into focus from one moment to the next and aroused great interest. Before that, many of these companies had a rather shadowy existence in the public eye and among German investors. But no later than when CureVac chose the American technology exchange Nasdaq for its IPO in August 2020 and BioNTech succeeded barely a year later, the sensation was great and criticism was heard that a company supported with German government funds had not gone public in Germany. 

 But going public is not a question of national pride. Rather, it is about mobilizing capital in order to create the next growth step and to take advantage of the best framework and financing conditions. This is what the German Stock Institute (DAI) says. The decision by German biotechnology companies to opt for American stock exchanges is ultimately an indictment of Germany as a financing location. Dependent on foreign investors "Germany is a developing country when it comes to financing young growth companies," said Christine Bortenlänger, director of the Deutsches Aktieninstitut in Frankfurt. Above all, companies with a specialized business model and high financing requirements are dependent on foreign investors. 

If innovative growth stocks are to be maintained in Germany, politicians must now take energetic countermeasures, because an efficient capital market ecosystem does not emerge overnight. Christof Hettich, partner at the Ritterhaus commercial law firm, calls for better legal framework conditions so that innovative companies can obtain growth capital by going public on the German stock market. For example, stock corporation law should be opened so that companies could deviate from the restricted exclusion of subscription rights or the prohibition of multiple voting rights. 

Together with the Ritterhaus law firm, the Aktieninstitut investigated the question of why so many German biotechnology and other growth companies decide to go public in America and why they do not get the money they need to research and develop their products in Germany. In doing so, they were also looking for reasons why Germany has so few IPOs of growth companies compared to other industrialized nations, and what this means for the German economy. 

For this purpose, discussions were held with representatives of young growth companies with a stock exchange listing abroad and capital market experts. BioNTech, Biofrontera, CureVac, Delivery Hero, Software AG and Trivago were surveyed. According to this analysis, there are too few financially strong investors in Germany who can assess the growth potential of stock market candidates, for example from the biotechnology sector. In addition, issuing banks and analysts largely concentrated on larger companies, since the effort is not worthwhile with smaller IPOs. There must also be more awareness of a culture of opportunity here. Because not every good idea is a success. 

 According to the results of the study, a whole package of measures would make sense to facilitate access to sufficient capital for growth companies from capital-intensive future industries and to strengthen the German capital market. One recommendation is aimed at old-age provision and a savings process with shares in Germany as well. Other countries, such as Sweden or America, showed that people in old age benefited from it, and financially strong pension funds in these countries also ensured that the development of growth companies and IPOs received a sustainable boost, it is said. In order to make stocks even more attractive for old-age provision and asset accumulation, the tax framework would also have to be improved. It is important, for example, to reintroduce the tax exemption on capital gains on shares after one year, as applies to bitcoins and gold. This would be the state before Introduction of the final withholding tax in 2009. Capital gains were back then tax-free for a period of one year.

Accordingly, there is also an urgent need for reform in German stock corporation law, which is not tailored to the needs of growth stocks. For example, many German companies are taking refuge in Dutch law, which offers more flexibility for the exclusion of subscription rights and the amount of authorized capital. In addition, in view of the many capital market obligations that go public with it, it is appropriate to allow young growth companies like in America a period of several years to get used to them, in which they only have to fulfill part of these obligations. In any case, investors can look forward to the stock market success of BioNTech & Co. so far. After an issue price of $ 14.95, BioNTech shares currently cost around $ 208. And even the stocks of CureVac are at around $ 55, well above the issue price of $ 16 per share, although the studies on the success of the vaccine have recently disappointed." 

 

Naujas ES Komisijos klimato paketas

"Kaip Europa turėtų tapti neutrali klimatui? ES Komisija žiūri į oro eismą ir siekia importo mokesčio bei naujų transporto priemonių su vidaus degimo varikliais pardavimo pabaigos datos. 

 ES Komisija nori įvesti žibalo mokestį skrydžiams Europoje. Esama aviacijos pramonės atleidimas nuo degalų mokesčio turi būti laipsniškai panaikintas per dešimt metų, kaip pranešė Briuselio valdžia. Privatiems verslo skrydžiams ir krovinių srautams ir toliau turėtų būti netaikomi mokesčiai. 

Be to, Briuselis siekia įvesti klimatui žalingų produktų importo mokestį iš trečiųjų šalių nuo 2026 m. Iš pradžių planuojamas pereinamasis etapas nuo 2023 m., kad įmonės galėtų prisitaikyti prie naujovių, pranešė komisija. Vėliau plieno, aliuminio, cemento ir trąšų importuotojai turės pirkti CO2 sertifikatus, atsižvelgdami į žalingą klimatui jų importą. Siekiama apsaugoti ES įmones nuo konkurencijos iš užsienio, kurių produkcijai netaikomi tokie patys klimato reikalavimai kaip Europos Sąjungoje - dėmesys sutelktas į tokias šalis, kaip Rusija ir Kinija. Likus kelioms valandoms iki Briuselio planų paskelbimo, Liaudies Respublika pranešė ketinanti šį mėnesį pradėti prekybos apyvartiniais taršos leidimais sistemą (ETS). Prekyba CO2 sertifikatais yra svarbi klimato apsaugos priemonė. 

Be to, kaip ir nuo F.A.Z. anksčiau pranešė apie draudimą ES prekiauti naujomis transporto priemonėmis su vidaus degimo varikliais nuo 2035 m. Tada visas naujas automobilių parkas ES nebeturėtų išleisti šiltnamio efektą sukeliančių dujų. Esant dabartinei technikos būklei, tai galima pasiekti tik grynais elektromobiliais. Komisija taip pat kelia tarpinį tikslą, kaip pasiekti, kad naujas transporto priemonių parkas būtų neutralus šiltnamio efektą sukeliančioms dujoms: pagal dabartines ES gaires grupės transporto priemonių parkas gali išleisti tik vidutiniškai 95 gramus anglies dvideginio (CO2) kilometre; iki 2025 m. , dar 15 turėtų būti sumažinta procentais, o iki 2030 m. - 37,5 proc. Remiantis nauju ES Komisijos pasiūlymu, automobilių išskyrų vertė iki 2030 m. turėtų sumažėti 55 proc., o furgonų - 50 proc. 

 Kartu, pasak komisijos, ketinama skatinti įkrovimo infrastruktūros plėtrą. Iki praėjusių metų pabaigos 27 Europos Sąjungos valstybėse narėse buvo apie 260 000 viešai prieinamų įkrovimo punktų - daugiau nei du trečdaliai jų vien trijose Nyderlandų, Prancūzijos ir Vokietijos šalyse. Dabar siekiama, kad įkrovimo punktai, esantys ne mažiau kaip 60 kilometrų atstumu, palei svarbiausius kelius.

Kita vertus, Vokietijos pramonės ir prekybos rūmų asociacijos prezidentas Peteris Adrianas perspėjo: „Žaliąja sutartimi Europos Sąjunga nustato ambicingus tikslus klimato apsaugai įmonėms. Šiuos tikslus ekonomika gali pasiekti tik tuo atveju, jei įmonės išliks konkurencingos - ES vidaus rinkoje ir eksporte. “Šiandien pristatytas teisės aktų paketas suteikia daug galimybių. "Tačiau tai taip pat parodo, koks reikalingas numatomas perėjimas prie klimato neutralumo", - sakė jis. Tai ypač pasakytina apie didelę pramonės dalį turinčią Vokietijos ekonomiką.

 Reformuota apyvartinių taršos leidimų prekyba žymiai padidins spaudimą mažai teršalų išmetantiems gamybos procesams ir energiją taupantiems produktams atsirasti. Klimatui palankūs gamybos procesai kai kuriose pramonės šakose dar nėra prieinami arba toli gražu nėra pelningi. „Todėl politiškai numatytos aukštos CO2 kainos yra tvarios tik tuo atveju, jei tuo pačiu metu bus kompensuojama ypač nukentėjusioms įmonėms. Priešingu atveju daug energijos ir išmetamųjų teršalų išmetančios įmonės rizikuoja, kad jų produktai nebebus konkurencingi. Tai taikoma pagrindinių ir žaliavų, tokių kaip plienas, aliuminis ir cementas, gamintojams, bet ir daugeliui jas perdirbančių įmonių."  

New climate package of EU Commission

 "How should Europe become climate-neutral? The EU Commission is looking at air traffic and is aiming for an import tax - and an end date for the sale of new vehicles with internal combustion engines." 

The EU Commission wants to introduce a kerosene tax for flights within Europe. The existing exemption for the aviation industry from the fuel tax is to be phased out over ten years, as the Brussels authority announced. Private business flights and freight traffic should therefore continue to be exempt from taxation. 

In addition, Brussels is aiming to introduce an import tax on climate-damaging products from third countries from 2026. A transition phase is initially planned from 2023 so that companies can adapt to the innovation, the commission said. Subsequently, importers of steel, aluminum, cement and fertilizers will have to buy CO2 certificates based on the climate-damaging nature of their imports. The aim is to protect companies in the EU from competition from abroad whose production is not subject to the same climate regulations as in the European Union - the focus is on countries like Russia and China. A few hours before the Brussels plans were announced, the People's Republic announced that it intends to start an emissions trading system (ETS) this month. Trading in CO2 certificates is an important instrument for climate protection. 

In addition, as from the F.A.Z. previously reported on a ban on the sale of new vehicles with internal combustion engines from 2035 on-wards. By then, the entire new vehicle fleet in the EU should no longer emit any greenhouse gases. According to the current state of the art, this can only be achieved by pure electric cars. The Commission is also raising the intermediate goal on the way to greenhouse gas neutrality of the new vehicle fleet: According to current EU guidelines, a group's vehicle fleet may only emit an average of 95 grams of carbon dioxide (CO2) per kilometer; by 2025, a further 15 should be reduced by 2025 percent and by 2030 by 37.5 percent. According to the new proposal of the EU Commission, the value for cars should now drop by 55 percent by 2030 and for delivery vans by 50 percent. 

At the same time, according to the commission, the expansion of the charging infrastructure will be pushed ahead. By the end of last year, there were around 260,000 publicly accessible charging points in the 27 member states of the European Union - more than two thirds of them in the three countries of the Netherlands, France and Germany alone. The aim now is to have charging points at least 60 kilometers apart along the most important roads.

President of Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce  Peter Adrian, on the other hand, warned: “With the Green Deal, the European Union is setting ambitious climate protection targets for companies. The economy can only achieve these goals if companies remain competitive - in the EU internal market and in exports. ”The legislative package presented today offers many opportunities. “But it also shows how demanding the foreseeable transformation towards climate neutrality is,” he said. This applies particularly to the German economy, with its large industrial share.

The reformed emissions trading will significantly increase the pressure for low-emission production processes and energy-efficient products. Climate-friendly production processes are not yet available in some industries or are far from being profitable. “The politically intended high CO2 prices are therefore only sustainable if at the same time compensation is made for the particularly affected companies. Otherwise, energy- and emission-intensive companies run the risk of their products no longer being competitive. This applies to the manufacturers of basic and raw materials such as steel, aluminum and cement, but also to many companies that process them.""  

Today's pandemic situation in Lithuania

  "But not even today it became clear that a pandemic vicious circle is turning around: a leap of contagion, quarantine, a little freedom, a new variety, and we're back where we started. That's how the world lives now. We have 53% of adults vaccinated with at least one dose and are already behind the European average (64%).  

And the delta has already crossed the Lithuanian border, and only a naive can think that we have some special genome resistant to this strain of the virus. If we have already forgotten India, let’s take a look at the UK or Russia and understand what this monster will bring us. The answer is simple: another quarantine, because neither we nor the world have been able to find another way so far."

Šiandieninė pandeminė padėtis Lietuvoje

 "Bet net ne šiandien tapo akivaizdu, kad užsisuka pandeminis užburtas ratas: užkrato šuolis, karantinas, truputis laisvės, nauja atmaina, ir grįžtame, kur pradėję. Taip dabar gyvena pasaulis. Ambicingas prezidento tikslas iki Mindauginių paskiepyti 70% gyventojų davė toną, bet nevirto kūnu – bent viena doze paskiepytų suaugusiųjų turime 53% ir jau atsiliekame nuo Europos vidurkio (64%).

O delta jau peržengė Lietuvos sieną, ir tik naivuolis gali manyti, kad turime kažkokį ypatinga genomą, atsparų šiai viruso atmainai. Jei jau užmiršome Indiją, mestelkime akį į Jungtinę Karalystę ar Rusiją ir suprasime, ką mums atneš šis monstras. Atsakymas paprastas – dar vieną karantiną, nes kito kelio iki šiol nesugebėjome rasti nei mes, nei pasaulis."

After the study quality audit: in Lithuania, the programs are “baked” and not prepared qualitatively

 "The situation is poor with students' employment according to their specialty. According to the State Audit Office, less qualified jobs are done after graduation due to lack of skills. Students themselves are not surprised by poorly organized internships." , and do not apply any serious practical skills, ”said Vytautas Kučinskas, President of the Student Union. 

It is also bad that there are no equal requirements for entrants. "For some, it is enough to pass one state exam, if you enter non-state-funded places, those who enter the funded places need to pass three exams," K. Česaitienė explained. 

The student union also criticizes the study funding model itself, which is based on a study basket. This means that the more students a college accepts, the more money it will receive. "Undoubtedly, those study programs are more" baked "than high-quality. Therefore, this is also a problematic place, "said V. Kučinskas. 

 Studies in Lithuania are unattractive even for foreigners. Lithuania lags twice behind the European Union average in terms of attracting foreign students. 

Lithuanians also travel abroad for at least a few semesters. “The aim is for students to study at least part of their studies in foreign countries. The goal of 20 percent. such students would. Now less than 4 percent, " - said the Chief State Auditor of the State Audit Office."

All of this is the result of liberal reforms carried out under conservative and liberal rule. The Peasant government wanted to repeal those reforms, but failed. Lithuanian universities and colleges remain trading posts for selling low-quality diplomas. This is a serious blow to our economic growth prospects. 

Po studijų kokybės audito: Lietuvoje programos „kepamos“, o ne rengiamos kokybiškai

"Situacija prasta su studentų įsidarbinimu pagal specialybę. Anot Valstybės kontrolės, baigus studijas dirbami mažiau kvalifikuoti darbai, nes trūksta įgūdžių. Patys studentai tuo nesistebi, nes esą prastai organizuojamos darbinės praktikos. „Įvairios būna problemos. Labai dažnai studentas tėra tas, kuris atneša kavą, o ne pritaiko kokius nors rimtus praktinius įgūdžius“, – teigė Studentų sąjungos prezidentas Vytautas Kučinskas. 

Blogai ir tai, kad nėra vienodų reikalavimų stojantiesiems. „Vieniems užtenka išlaikyti vieną valstybinį egzaminą, jeigu stoji į valstybės nefinansuojamas vietas, stojantiems į finansuojamas vietas reikia tris egzaminus išlaikyti“, – aiškino K. Česaitienė. 

Studentų sąjunga kritikuoja ir patį studijų finansavimo modelį, kuris paremtas studijų krepšeliu. Tai reiškia, kad kuo daugiau studentų aukštoji mokykla priims, tuo daugiau pinigų gaus. „Neabejotinai tos studijų programos  yra labiau „kepamos“, o ne rengiamos kokybiškai. Todėl tai irgi yra probleminė vieta“, – sakė V. Kučinskas. 

Studijos Lietuvoje nepatrauklios net užsieniečiams. Lietuva du kartus atsilieka nuo Europos Sąjungos vidurkio pagal užsienio studentų pritraukimą. 

Lietuviai taip pat mažai bent keliems semestrams važiuoja svetur. „Siekiama, kad bent dalį studijų studijuotų studentai užsienio šalyse. Tikslas, kad 20 proc. tokių studentų būtų. Dabar nesiekia 4 proc. šitas rodiklis“, – teigė Valstybės kontrolės vyriausioji valstybinė auditorė."

Visa tai yra liberalių reformų, pravestų konservatorių ir liberalų valdymo laikais, rezultatai. Valstiečiai norėjo tas reformas panaikinti, bet nesugebėjo. Lietuvos universitetai ir kolegijos lieka žemos kokybės diplomų pardavimo kioskeliais. Tai rimtas smūgis mūsų ekonomikos augimo perspektyvoms.