The very high current account surplus of 8½% of GDP is mainly attributable to this. Given the foreseeable demographic change, current account surpluses for Germany are quite appropriate at the present time, as this reflects how Germans provide for old age, amongst other things. The assets held abroad will later be depleted as more and more employees retire and run down their savings.
German investors, then, are harnessing the higher returns on offer in regions with faster-growing economies, not at least in Slovenia, where German enterprises are the third most important investors. In my view, this seems to be a situation in which both sides win. That said, however, the high current account surplus we see today in Germany cannot be put down to demographics alone.