Germany is well on the road to becoming a nation of stock investors, with the number of shareholders rising strongly in the first six months of this year, data published by the German share institute DAI showed this week.

DAI quoted the results of a survey by market researchers, Infratest, which showed that 11.32 million Germans held shares either directly or via investment funds at the end of June, compared with just eight million at the end of 1999.

That was equivalent to 17.7 per cent of the population over 14 years, compared with 12.9 per cent at the end of last year. DAI board member, Mr Ruediger von Rosen conceded that the high growth rates were unlikely to be sustained in the coming years.

"Nevertheless, I believe growth will be continuous and steady," he said.