HANNOVER, Germany, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Germany's ICT market is strong for all industry sectors. It offers investors possibilities in hardware, software, and services as well as access to one of the world's leading R&D locations. ICT in Germany will be a major focus of the CeBIT 2008, the world's largest trade fair in the IT and telecommunications industry. The trade show runs from March 4-9 at the Hannover Convention Center in Hannover, Germany.

The country's ICT sector is responsible for 25% of all global R&D spending in ICT and it registered 5,600 patents in 2006. The country's scientists register more patents at the European Patent Office annually than those from any other country. The industry's backbone is services, taking a 72% market share in the German ICT industry. This success largely consists of IT services and carrier services.

The German government's ICT policies will be presented by German Federal Minister for Economics and Technology, Michael Glos, as part of the French-German ICT summit on March 4th. Following his speech, Michael Pfeiffer, Managing Director of Invest in Germany, will present Germany's advantages as an investment location for ICT investors.

Exports also play an important role in the success of the German ICT industry. ICT services have an export volume of nearly EUR8 billion. ICT hardware is also strong in this area carrying an export volume of nearly EUR33 billion. In total, the German ICT industry had EUR150 billion in sales in 2007.

Strengths in the export market, R&D, over 800,000 qualified employees, and the availability of government incentives are attracting leading ICT players such as Alcatel-Lucent, Dell, and Oracle to Germany. These investors, and many others, are helping to ensure that Germany's ICT market continues to grow and that the market remains one of the world's leading locations for ICT investments.

Invest in Germany is the inward investment promotion agency of the Federal Republic of Germany. It provides investors with comprehensive support from site selection to the implementation of investment decisions.

Media Contact: Eva Henkel, Invest in Germany, Phone: +49-30-200099-173, Fax: +49-30-200099-111, Email: henkel@invest-in-germany.com. http://www.invest-in-germany.com

Media Contact: Eva Henkel, Invest in Germany, Phone: +49-30-200099-173, Fax: +49-30-200099-111, Email: henkel@invest-in-germany.com.