German-Owned Investment in Portugal Grows 16 Percent to 11.5 Billion Euros but Trails China's 16.5 Billion
Bank of Portugal data show German-owned groups held 11.5 billion euros of direct investment in Portugal in June 2026, up 16 percent in a year, against 16.5 billion for Chinese-owned groups. Counted by immediate investor, the ranking flips.
Groups whose ultimate owner is German held 11.5 billion euros of direct investment in Portugal at the end of June 2026, 16 percent more than a year earlier, according to Bank of Portugal (Banco de Portugal) data. That is still about 5 billion euros less than Chinese-owned groups, which held 16.5 billion euros. The gap was the subject of a Público report published on Sunday, which noted that Germany, one of Portugal's main economic partners, also sits behind the United States and the United Kingdom on this measure.
Foreign direct investment (investimento direto estrangeiro, or IDE) is the stake a foreign investor holds in a Portuguese business it controls or strongly influences, counting both the equity and the loans between related companies.
Who owns the most, by ultimate investor
The figures above count investment by its ultimate investor: the country of the group at the top of the ownership chain, wherever the money passed on the way. On that basis, the Bank of Portugal's German and Chinese series show, at the end of June 2026:
- Spain: 30.9 billion euros
- United States: 18.4 billion
- France: 18.4 billion
- Luxembourg: 18.2 billion
- China: 16.5 billion
- United Kingdom: 15.9 billion
- Germany: 11.5 billion
- Netherlands: 10.5 billion
A further 29.2 billion euros has a Portuguese ultimate owner: money that leaves the country and comes back through a foreign holding company.
Both countries are growing. German-owned investment is up 57 percent since the end of 2019, when it stood at 7.4 billion euros. Chinese-owned investment rose from 10 billion to 16.5 billion over the same period, and by 29 percent in the past year alone.
Why the ranking flips on the other measure
The bank also publishes the same stock by immediate investor: the country of the company that directly holds the Portuguese stake. On that basis the picture reverses. At the end of 2025, direct holders based in Germany had 7.9 billion euros invested, up 13 percent in a year, against 3.6 billion euros from China. Measured at the same date by ultimate owner, China stood at 14.9 billion. In other words, most Chinese-owned investment in Portugal arrives through companies registered in other countries, which helps explain why holding-company hubs such as Luxembourg (42 billion euros) and the Netherlands (34.6 billion) sit near the top of the immediate-investor table.
Germany's share of the 217.4 billion euros of total inward investment on that basis is 3.6 percent. Spain leads with 43.9 billion.
What it means for residents
For people living here, the ultimate-investor figure is the better guide to who owns the companies they work for and pay bills to. Thorsten Kötschau, executive director of the Luso-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Público that German investment is "widely rooted" in Portugal with "a long-term perspective".
New German projects keep arriving. Thyssenkrupp Nucera chose Vila Nova de Gaia in October for an electrolyser cell assembly hub costing 10 million to 14 million euros. The wider picture for new projects is in our report on the 186 foreign investment projects Portugal drew in 2025.
