Too few large companies in east Germany, study finds

The eastern German economy is still struggling to catch up with the west, 25 years after unification, largely because of a lack of large companies in the region, the economy ministry said on Thursday. "Big companies and corporate headquarters are largely absent in east Germany. "The catching up process (between east and west) has stalled," said the ministry's federal commissioner for the new federal states, Iris Gleicke.