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FRANKFURT, May 7 (Xinhua) -- More German companies reportedly consider relocating their production abroad due to high cost structures, according to German experts and media reports.

A recent survey conducted by the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) showed that investing abroad is currently more attractive for many German companies than in Germany.

"While business expectations abroad are now being assessed much more positively again, it is noticeable that companies in Germany do not share this optimism to the same extent", said the German newspaper Welt.

Volker Treier, DIHK head of foreign trade, attributed the trend of companies moving abroad to high cost structures in Germany, with energy prices being a major factor.

As a result, a "sneaky move" of companies is occurring, said Treier.

A new debate about locations is also taking place, "which we should conduct with great openness," said Karl Haeusgen, president of the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA).

Some German companies have already scaled down production or increasingly relocated abroad, according to German newspaper Bild.

Haeusgen called on clear statements on how Germany and Europe are to be secured and strengthened as industrial locations in the coming years.