well connected worldwide
The German Chamber Network
well connected worldwide
About the German Chambers of Commerce
at 120 Locations in 80 Countries
The German Chamber Network
AHK - First Port of Call all over the World
German companies which wish to establish and develop their business in other countries need
information, advice, support and a network of contacts for all the matters that need to be
addressed. This is a service provided by AHK - The German Chamber Network all over the world.
The members of the German Chamber Network, the AHKs, also provide services to foreign
enterprises who are seeking to establish or strengthen their business relations with Germany.
2
AHK - the service
AHK - the offer
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AHKs represent the first point of contact in
their respective locations for all companies
that want to establish and expand bilateral
business activities from or with Germany.

AHKs provide collective platforms for all
German organizations located in the
respective countries abroad and involved
in the support of foreign business relations
and the promotion of Germany as an
investment location.

Acting as bilateral business advocates in
their respective host countries, the AHKs
represent German commerce as a whole in
a uniform way, fully using the resulting
synergistic potential for optimum support
of their client companies.
In this era of globalization, the AHKs perform
services in two major ways; in the support and
promotion of bilateral business relations and
in the promotion of Germany as a location for
trade and industry.
 The AHKs support German and foreign businesses
in their activities abroad and in Germany.

The AHKs provide specific services for companies.
They act as independent consultants and make
full use of their knowledge and experience to
the benefit of their clients.

The AHKs are bridges between cultures. They
are not only familiar with German culture but
also with the language and mentality of their
host countries. Worldwide they have 40,000
member companies which provide a closely
linked network and active support.
AHK - 120 Locations in 80 Countries
International trade and investment relations abroad are of major economic significance for
Germany. Germany’s economic interests are represented by AHKs at 120 locations in 80 countries
on all five continents. The AHK network is deeply involved in the rapid development of today’s
global markets both in terms of quantity and quality, in the interest and at the service of German
business enterprises.
3
AHKs are located in all countries which are of
strategic importance to the German economy and
where a particularly high level of business
activity on the part of German companies is present.

The bilateral Chambers of Industry and
Commerce are independent institutions funded
and administered by the member companies
located in the host countries and/or in Germany.
AHKs offer services which provide specific
assistance and support to German and foreign
companies.

Delegations and Representations of German
Industry and Commerce represent the initial
stage for establishing further bilateral chambers.
They are located in countries where it has not yet
been possible to establish a bilateral chamber,
or where it is currently being prepared.
There are three different forms and names of
AHKs according to the legal regulations and
economic circumstances prevailing in the host
country:

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
Bilateral Chambers of Industry and Commerce
Delegations of German Industry and Commerce,
Representations of German Industry and
Commerce.
AHK - well connected worldwide
Algeria Argentina Australia Austria | Belarus Belgium Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Brazil
Bulgaria | Canada Chile China Colombia Costa Rica Croatia Czech Republic | Dominican
Republic Denmark | Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Estonia | Finland France | Greece Great Britain
Guatemala | Hungary Honduras Hong Kong | India Indonesia Iran Ireland Iceland Israel
Italy | Japan | Kazakhstan Korea | Latvia Lithuania Luxemburg | Macedonia Malaysia Mexico
Morocco | New Zealand Netherlands Nicaragua Nigeria Norway | Panama Paraguay Peru
Philippines
4
Poland Portugal | Romania Russia | Saudi Arabia Serbia Singapore Slovenia Slovakia
South Africa Spain Sweden Switzerland | Taiwan Thailand Tunisia Turkey | Ukraine
UAE USA | Venezuela Vietnam
www.ahk.de/en
5
www.ahk.de
AHK – Service Provider to Companies
Companies want to be successful in doing business abroad. They have to be aware of the
conditions in the respective countries and use this knowledge to their advantage. Especially
before getting involved in international commercial activities, specific answers to critical
questions and practical solutions for potential problems are needed.
6
Examples of some questions asked
by companies:

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

How can we best find a distribution partner
in France?
Which is the most suitable trade fair in
Germany for us to present our products?
Who can represent us in a legal dispute
in Hong Kong if we have problems with our
authorized agent?
Who can advise us on a tax representative
in Norway?
Can we, as a small business, take part in
export promotion schemes and if so, how?
What customs duties and import
regulations must be observed when
exporting our products to Brazil?



How can we present our company
systematically on the German market?
Who can assist us in finding a sales
representative in Japan and who can
inform us about income tax laws there?
What are the market conditions for
the introduction of our products in
South East Europe?
AHKs can provide specific answers and practical
solutions to these and many more questions. They
assist companies through a number of services
developed around such questions.
AHK – competent worldwide on site
AHKs provide specific answers and practical solutions for companies. AHKs are located in all the
markets of particular interest for German business. AHKs are also present in the countries of
prospective economic growth, where German companies need assistance, particularly in the case
of new market entry. Here's a selection:
7
Algeria:
Baltic States:
A future market thanks to its
natural resources
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania – attractive
locations in Europe’s Baltic growth region
One of the younger AHKs is in Algeria. In
October 2005 the founding members of
the “Association for the Promotion of
German-Algerian Business Relations”
unanimously decided to found an AHK.
The Association which was only formed
in February 2005, thus created one of the
fastest established AHKs in the history of
foreign trade promotion.
Having gained independence, Estonia, Latvia
and Lithuania are experiencing a dynamic
development process, rapidly catching
up in the increasingly global world. The
liberal economic policies introduced in all
three countries at the beginning of the
1990s resolutely continue. The tax systems
too, are designed to encourage business
enterprise. A further major factor, of course,
is also their strategic geo-political location
in North East Europe which makes these
countries an important hub, linking goods
and people to other eastern economies.
The primary reason for this step was the
extremely positive development of the
economic relations between Germany and
Algeria. In addition, in 2004 the Algerian
government had already set up an economic
development scheme which was then
increased to a volume of 144 billion US
dollars. The currency reserves of this country
are estimated at around 110 billion US
dollars. In view of the country’s abundance
of raw materials, this country is also an
interesting market for German companies
in the medium term.
The AHK Algeria provides support for
market entry in a complex environment.
Companies receive the support of the
AHK Baltic States, which has had regional
representative offices since 1993 located
in Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius. The staff of
27 employees make it easier for companies
to take the first steps into these markets.
The coordinated services of the three offices
guarantee efficient representation of the
business interests of German undertakings
throughout the Baltic States.
8
Colombia:
Slovakia:
A country much better
than its reputation
A promising market at the heart of
Europe
The experience of international investors in
Colombia is much more positive than the
often critical observations made about this
country on the international stage. Over
the last few years the economy has grown
by an average of 5 % to 6 %. During the
last decade, more than 25 billion US dollars
have flowed into the country – 6 billion in
2006 alone.
The AHK Slovakia was opened in November
2005 in Bratislava with the participation of
the Federal German President Horst Koehler.
Only a short time after its founding, the
AHK already had 120 member companies.
Colombia is a member of the Andes Community
and is making every effort at integration in
the global economy. In February 2006 the
government signed a Free Trade Agreement
with the USA. In September 2007, the first
round of negotiations took place between
the countries of the Andes Community and
the European Union about an association
agreement including a free trade agreement.
For more than 70 years the AHK Colombia,
with its head office in Bogotá and an office
in Medellin has been a contact partner for
German and Colombian businesses.
Slovakia is considered as one of the new
markets in the Central Eastern Europe region
with considerable growth potential. In
Germany, this country is increasingly taken
more seriously as an interesting business
location and trading partner. In automobile
manufacturing Slovakia has a good chance
of soon becoming the number one, per capita
of population. Some of the prime benefits
of this location include moderate wage levels,
simple taxation laws, flexible labour laws
and a motivated and qualified work force.
The AHK Slovakia provides its services
not only to German companies wishing
to enter the market but also to Slovakian
companies which wish to do business in
Germany.
9
Delegierter der Deutschen
Wirtschaft in Vietnam
Delegate of German Industry
and Commerce in Vietnam
Southern Africa:
Vietnam:
Growth factor
Football World Cup 2010
A country awakes
For six years South Africa has enjoyed a
period of stable economic growth. The
Football World Cup in 2010 is one of the
factors which will ensure that this trend
continues. Since 2001, thanks to a black
middle class which is becoming increasingly
stronger, consumer goods contribute a
further significant growth factor.
Since the APEC summit took place in
Hanoi in November 2006 and since its
entry to the World Trade Organization
in January 2007, Vietnam is happy to
be one of the “Tiger States” of Asia.
Massive state investment in connection
with the World Cup 2010 have flowed freely
not only into the building and renovating
of stadiums but also and especially into
improvements to the infrastructure.
Germany is South Africa’s most important
trading partner.
The AHK Southern Africa with its 650
member companies is the largest bilateral
chamber of foreign trade in South Africa.
It supports German companies in entering
a market of the future, one of the markets
with the greatest potential on the African
continent.
Among the major success factors for the
increasing attractiveness of Vietnam are the
stable political environment, the young,
ambitious population thirsting for knowledge
and its central location in South East Asia.
The AHK Vietnam has had a location in
Hanoi since 1993 and also since 2005 in
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) offering a
broad range of services. As well as providing
up-to-date information, the AHK is also
involved in German-Vietnamese joint
cooperative projects. In addition, it compiles
location analyses, market information and
has trade fair services available for German
companies.
AHK - well connected in Germany
The AHKs worldwide are also closely linked with the 80 Chambers of Industry and Commerce (IHKs)
in Germany. As the official representation of German industry in the respective locations, the AHKs
are also the first port of call and close cooperation partner for German business associations.
10
Flensburg
Kiel
Rostock
Lübeck
Chambers of Industry and Commerce
in Germany
Stade
Schwerin
Neubrandenburg
Hamburg
Emden
Bremerhaven
Bremen
Lüneburg
Oldenburg
The IHKs are corporations under public law acting
on their own authority. They are independent
institutions, self administered by local businesses.
Berlin
Frankfurt
a.d. Oder
Osnabrück
Hannover
IHKs represent the interests of all commercial and
industrial undertakings in their region vis-à-vis local
and state governments, policy-making institutions
and the general public.
Bochum
Essen
Detmold
Dortmund
Halle
Arnsberg
Düsseldorf
Wuppertal
Köln
Aachen
Leipzig
Hagen
Krefeld
Kassel
Siegen
Dresden
Erfurt
Dillenburg
Chemnitz
Bonn
Fulda
Wetzlar
Limburg
Gera
Suhl
Gießen
Koblenz
Frankfurt
am Main
Hanau
Coburg
Wiesbaden
Offenbach
Trier
AHKs and IHKs work together in support of German companies in the development and expansion
of their business relations in foreign countries.
Magdeburg
Cottbus
Bielefeld
Duisburg
Potsdam
Braunschweig
Münster
Aschaffenburg
Mainz
Würzburg
Bayreuth
Darmstadt
Saarbrücken
Nürnberg
Ludwigshafen
Mannheim
Regensburg
Heilbronn
Karlsruhe
Heidenheim
Pforzheim
Passau
Stuttgart
Ulm
VillingenSchwenningen
Freiburg i. Brsg.
Reutlingen
Weingarten
Augsburg
München
Konstanz
Business Associations
The close cooperation with German business
associations also furthers the strong corporate and
market links of the AHKs. The joint network represents the specific business affairs of companies.
In view of the increasing internationalization of the
skilled crafts trades, the AHKs also work closely in
cooperation and mutual trust with the Chambers of
Skilled Crafts.
AHK – well connected worldwide
Traditionally the AHKs work in close cooperation with strong German partners in the promotion
of overseas business. At their respective locations, AHKs are well connected with key players in
business, politics and administration.
11
Germany´s missions abroad, namely its embassies
and consulates are important partners for the AHKs.
They forward all the business enquiries they receive
to the AHKs and are also kept informed of all
important decisions taken by German companies
in their region.
In their field of responsibility they concentrate
primarily on political support for the interests
of trade and industry, representing these to the
government of the respective host country.
As the official representatives of German industry,
the AHKs have extremely good access to the
decision-makers in business, politics and local
governments in their host locations. They know
the structures, the distribution of power and
the decision making processes – both formally
and informally.
The AHKs are in a position to effectively represent
the interests of bilateral business relations as well
as are able to provide individual companies with
specific answers and practical solutions.
Germany Trade and Invest* is the foreign trade
and inward investment agency of the Federal
Republic of Germany. Its mission is to promote
Germany as a location for industrial and technological investments and to identify investors for
the German market. The organization advises
foreign companies that are interested in expanding their business activities in the German
market and supports German companies looking
to enter foreign markets, providing foreign trade
information for both.
Germany Trade & Invest has a global network
of employees who perform on-site research into
foreign markets and support foreign businesses
looking to establish a company in Germany.
Its international team of experts works closely
together with the AHKs. This cooperation is
being continuously expanded in order to be able
to offer German exporters and potential foreign
investors a central contact point for both information and targeted consultancy services, under
the umbrella of the German Chamber Network.
* Formed following the merger of the German Office for Foreign Trade and the Invest in
Germany GmbH, Germany Trade & Invest officially came into being on January 1, 2009.
DEinternational – the AHK Service Brand
DEinternational is the service brand of the AHKs.
DEinternational stands for the AHKs network spirit and action.
To the benefit of the customers worldwide.
12
The AHKs offer their services to companies under
the service brand DEinternational:




The basic range of AHK services is the same
all over the world.
Specialized AHK services are consolidated,
standardized and optimized.
If required, the AHKs also offer their services
to the customer in a shared network.
The range of services promoting foreign trade
is expanded and offered in cooperation with
other partners.
Under the service brand DEinternational the
AHKs offer companies a harmonized portfolio
of services, while taking each host country's
specificities into account.
AHKs serve as a bridge between Germany and the
world. This also finds expression in the logo of
DEinternational with its intertwined letters.
All of this leads to an even greater concentration
on markets and customers, producing transparent
results for clients, with especially small and medium sized German companies benefitting from the
AHKs worldwide network.
Germany in the world, the best connections,
an extensive network, through the service brand
of the AHKs.
DEinternational – the Products
The AHKs are the first port of call for initial information free of charge. The extensive range of
services provided by the AHKs is divided into the basic services and specialized services.
13
Basic services
The basic services of the AHKs include market
information, market entry support, address
research, legal information, debt collection or
arbitration services and sales tax refunds.
These basic services are provided by the
AHKs all over the world uniformly and at
a high quality standard.
For the customer this means:
Comparable results at a solid performance level.
For example "Market Information":
The customer who has to decide between
different countries within a target region
receives a full overview of the local conditions
in these countries, made possible by the
interaction and close collaboration of the
service offers of all the AHKs represented
at the various locations. The customer then
has a decisive competitive advantage.
For example "Sales Tax Refunds":
The AHKs Belgium-Luxembourg, France, United
Kingdom, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland
and Spain offer a central contact point for
interested German companies for the refund of
sales tax paid in other countries. The Cologne
office of the AHK Belgium-Luxembourg
supplies initial information and undertakes
the first refund applications to the countries
involved. These are then forwarded to the
respective AHK for further processing.
For example "Address Research":
Upon request, the AHKs will carry out address
research, in doing so checking existing customer databases or creating new ones.
14
Specialized Services
Examples of the specialized services of various
AHKs are: advice on environmental matters,
personnel management, business representations,
location analyses, business delegations, trade
fair services, etc.
Specialized service “Trade Fair Service”:
Under the brand name “fairs & more” many of
the AHKs in Asia provide full trade fair service to
customers from a single source. Customers receive
comprehensive advice from the AHK support
services in the preparation stages, during the trade
fair and also assistance during the critical post
event phase. AHKs work with competent partners
in the field of logistics, accommodation, travel,
exhibition stand set-up and equipping – all to the
benefit of the customer.
Specialized service “Business Representation”:
The full representation of German companies has
been developed in the USA and is now available
at other locations.
AHKs have all the advantages of a close network
cooperation and pass these on to the customer.
The special services introduced by one AHK are
then at the disposal of other AHKs.
Specialized service “Business Delegation”
It is often beneficial for companies that on one
business tour the markets in neighbouring
countries can also be visited in order to compare.
The AHKs located in these countries work together
hand in hand to make these comparative market
tours a seamless experience.
Basic and specialized AHK services can be offered
as joint services on demand. In such cases one
AHK contact person provides the interface to the
other AHKs which then agree on a joint service
placed at the customer’s disposal.
Specialized services are provided as required
according to the specific prevailing conditions of
the host country of an AHK and are tailored to
the special needs of the companies. Specialized
services will differ from country to country.
AHK – Data and Facts
There are a lot of network benefits behind the AHKs in terms of
experience, know-how, resources, capacities and contacts.
Companies profit from all of these.
15
AHK in figures:
The German Chamber Network employ
1,600 people and provides useful services to
companies for entry into and expansion of
business relations.
Annual statistics:
 500,000 enquiries for specific economic
information are answered,
 400,000 business contacts are set up,
 500 company business trips are
organized and managed,
 50,000 business travellers from
Germany are assisted,
 20,000 specialists and managers
are trained,
 15,000 foreign exhibitors and
170,000 visitors are introduced to
trade fairs in Germany and 230,000 m²
trade fair space rented out,
 3,300 company meetings, congresses
and seminars attended by 165,000
people are organized,
 80 AHK magazines in 20 different
languages are published every year with
a total circulation of 1.6 million copies.
The AHKs provide services to German and
foreign enterprises in all branches of trade
and industry.
16
Editorial information
Publisher:
DIHK | Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce
Breite Strasse 29 | 10178 Berlin, Germany
Tel. +49 30 20308 - 2302
Fax +49 30 20308 - 2333
Email: infocenter@berlin.dihk.de
Internet: www.ahk.de
www.DEinternational.de
www.dihk.de
Status:
February 2009
Editor: Yorck Sievers
Design: Ricardo Müller, Anne Krieger,
Print:
DCM | Druck Center Meckenheim
Algeria Argentina Australia Austria | Belarus Belgium Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Brazil Bulgaria | Canada
Chile China Colombia Costa Rica Croatia Czech Republic | Dominican Republic Denmark | Ecuador Egypt El Salvador
Estonia | Finland France | Greece Great Britain Guatemala | Hungary Honduras Hong Kong | India Indonesia
Iran Ireland Iceland Israel Italy | Japan | Kazakhstan Korea | Latvia Lithuania Luxemburg | Macedonia Malaysia
Mexico Morocco | New Zealand Netherlands Nicaragua Nigeria Norway | Panama Paraguay Peru Philippines
Poland Portugal | Romania Russia | Saudi Arabia Serbia Singapore Slovenia Slovakia South Africa Spain Sweden
Switzerland | Taiwan Thailand Tunisia Turkey | Ukraine UAE USA | Venezuela Vietnam