The Financing for the Future Act aims to mobilise more private capital and to make Germany more attractive destination for businesses. The Act focuses especially on new, innovative start-ups, but also targets other small and medium-sized businesses that account for a significant portion of German economy. It aims to develop strong capital markets and mobilise financing for investments that need to play a crucial role in creating opportunities for growth-stage of companies.

The legislation enacted improved conditions for employee share ownership through new tax rules and easier access to capital markets through reducing the minimum capital required for an IPO. Importantly, the Financing for the Future Act pioneered in digitisation of capital markets by adding electronic shares to the scope of permitted securities. This created a legal framework under which securities could be issued and transferred electronically, using a distributed ledger technology (DLT).

The adopted text of the legislation was published in the German Federal Law Gazette (Bundesgesetzblatt) and has been in force since 2023. Deutsche Börse Group supported the initiative and continues to support innovation in capital markets through active implementation and thought leadership.

For further information on Deutsche Börse Group’s positioning on the matter, find our statements and position papers under Publications.