All articles by Martin Kaspar

Dr Martin G Kaspar is head of corporate development at a German Mittelstands company.

Is FDI in trouble?

Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows – save for a brief recovery in 2021 – are in decline. Since their record…
How to solve the supply chain problems created by ESG legislation

With 8.3 billion people on the planet, all striving to live a Western-style resource- and energy-heavy lifestyle, there is no…
What is driving the companies leading the reshoring trend?

Given the difficulties in measuring the extent and value of reshoring, much of the debate about this topic is conducted…
Who is in the driving seat when it comes to globalisation?

Thanks to fracturing supply chains, the US-China decoupling and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Davos 2023 – held in Switzerland in…
The EU must reform to avoid becoming a state of stasis and despair

On 14 June 2022, Abraham 'Boolie' Yehoshua, an exceptional Israeli novelist and playwright, died in Jerusalem. Yehoshua was more than…

The complicated reality of weaning Europe off Russian energy

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the end of a rule-based Europe, will permanently change European energy policy, and indeed…
The record profits of shipping companies will contribute to their demise

Since early 2020, container freight rates have been on the increase, and since the third quarter of that year they…
Brexit still leaves many unanswered questions for the EU

When in 2016 the Brexit vote happened, Europeans were utterly shocked by the outcome, but the UK, being a sovereign…
Our ideas about start-up ecosystems are increasingly off the mark

[caption id="attachment_60028" align="alignnone" width="658"] Berlin is the start-up capital of Europe and among the fastest-growing start-up ecosystems globally. (Photo by…
Targeting strategies of IPAs – boon or bane?

[caption id="attachment_44424" align="alignnone" width="658"] Everywhere wants to be a biotech hub, but are IPAs that focus on chasing 'hip' sectors…