According to our shareholder analysis (Dec. 31, 2016), the number of shareholders in the USA once again decreased substantially during the year. In December 2015, the level of US-held shares was 47 percent. A year later, it was 29 percent. The level of German-held shares rose to 31 percent (2015: 22 percent). Our strongest shareholder growth in 2016 came from the UK, where investors held 15 percent of the shares (2015: 7 percent). Share ownership declined in Canada (from 8 percent to 5 percent) and in Switzerland (from 4 percent to 3 percent). On the other hand, shares held by investors from the rest of Europe – excluding Germany, Switzerland and the UK – increased from 11 percent to 17 percent.