Germany records 4.1% less start-ups of larger businesses in 2013

There were 4.1 percent less start-ups of larger businesses founded in 2013 than in the year 2012 in Germany, the German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reported on Wednesday. Nearly 129,000 businesses were founded in the year 2013 in Germany, whose legal form and number of employees suggest some economic importance, according to Destatis. Meanwhile, the number of newly established small enterprises also declined in 2013 by 2.2 percent to 238,000. However, the number of start-ups of sideline businesses increased by 3.2 percent to almost 249,000. According to Destatis, the total number of business registrations in Germany reached around 755,000, slightly below the level of the previous year by 0.3 percent. Destatis also said that 116,000 enterprises quitted their trade with greater economic importance in 2013, 5.1 percent less than 2012. The number of small companies, which have been cancelled off in 2013, reached around 276,000 in 2013, 5.5 percent lower than in 2012, while almost 166,000 sideline businesses cancelled their trade in 2013, which reached the highest level since 2003. In total, the number of trade cancellations, including company shutdowns, transfers, conversions or departures, fell in 2013 at the trade offices by 2.1 percent to around 696,000, according to Destaitis.