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Business Overview
During the last decade Berlin has experienced significant changes towards a service orientated economy. Reunification related assimilation lead to stagnant nominal GDP growth and high unemployment rates until 2005. Since then the unemployment rate steadily decreased and reached a 13 year-low with 13.6% in June 2008, but remains above the German (7.5%/June/2008) average. Among the Forbes Global 2000 and the 30 German DAX companies, Siemens and Deutsche Bahn control headquarters in Berlin.

A multitude of German and international companies established secondary departments or service offices in the city. Among the 20 largest employers in Berlin are the railway company Deutsche Bahn AG, the hospital company Charité, the local public transport company BVG, the service provider Dussmann and the Piepenbrock Group. Daimler manufactures cars, and BMW builds motorcycles in Berlin. BayerSchering Pharma and Berlin Chemie are major pharmaceutical companies headquartered in the city. The major sectors of the Berlin economy are communications, life sciences, mobility and services with information and communication technologies, media and music, advertising and design, biotechnology and environmental services, transportation and medical engineering. The Science and Business Park of Berlin-Adlershof is among the 15 largest technology parks world-wide.

Research and development have established economic significance, and the Berlin Brandenburg region ranks among the top three innovative regions in the EU. Berlin is among the top three congress cities in the world and is home to Europe's biggest convention center in the form of the Internationales Congress Centrum (ICC).It contributes to the rapidly increasing tourism sector encompassing 592 hotels with 90,700 beds and numbered 17.3 million overnight stays and 7.5 million hotel guests in 2007. Berlin has established itself as the third most-visited city destination in the European Union. The city hosts a number of trade shows, events, exhibitions and trade fairs throughout the year.

Major Business Centers
Messe Berlin:
The Messe Berlin is Berlin's major exhibition centre. The Center hosts a variety of events throughout the year. The center located in the Charlottenburg district in the western city centre. It boasts of 26 interconnected halls, some of which are fitted for multi-purpose events, with a total floor space of 160,000 m². Messe Berlin hosts many internationally prestigious events such as the IFA (Internationale Funkaustellung) and the Grüne Woche (International Green Week), the world's largest food-related trade fair.

Internationales Congress Centrum:
The International Congress Centre (ICC) is Berlin's largest event venue. The ICC looks amazingly similar to some of the spaceships shown in the seventies science-fiction classic. The center is equipped with world class facilities to host several exhibitions, conventions, trade fairs and exhibitions. The venue is the first choice for organizers around the world.

Berlin Exhibition Centre:
The Berlin Exhibition Centre is a premier event facility of Berlin. The venue is equipped with 26 halls and has 100,000m² of exhibition space, 100,000m² of outdoor grounds, a service centre for exhibitors, restaurants and cafés, conference rooms and office services. The numerous entrances in the north, south and east enable visitor flows to be managed effectively. The summer garden, a 10,000m² open green area, is centrally located and is easily accessible from all halls. The center is easily accessible from all major parts of the city. The center is world famous for its world class facilities for any kind of exhibition or convention.