|
|
Article: Otherwise engaged: privatisation in Eastern Germany.
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- June 20, 1992
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1992 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
SMALL and medium-sized companies, collectively known as the Mittelstand, are the engine of western Germany's economy. No wonder, then, that many Germans are keen to create another version of this dynamo in the former East Germany. To further this goal, the Treuhandanstalt, the body charged with privatising state companies in eastern Germany, is holding a conference in Berlin on June 20th to find ways to speed up the privatisation of small firms in the East. And yet, despite its declared enthusiasm for small firms, the Treuhand's own bureaucracy has been the biggest stumbling block for west German entrepreneurs trying to win control of the many small enterprises still on its ...