German companies are showing a great deal of interest in tapping state aid that the government has made available under its twin economic stimulus packages, an Economy Ministry spokesman said on Sunday. "Not every request leads to a concrete offer (of aid)," the spokesman added.
He was responding to a report in Der Spiegel magazine that a growing number of high-profile German companies were interested in tapping 115 billion euros' ($156 billion) worth of guarantees and loans the government set aside under the stimulus packages.
Spiegel said carmaker Porsche and BMW had asked state bank KfW about the conditions for obtaining the government loans. Porsche declined to comment on which banks it was in contact with.
BMW declined to comment. The carmaker had said in the past it was considering asking for loan guarantees. Spiegel reported that Heidelberger Druck, the world's largest printing press maker, had requested 300 million euros in state loans and 400 million euros in guarantees, and that this had been authorised on Wednesday.