Banks, insurance companies, utilities and energy companies are the biggest beneficiaries of the German tax reform, mainly due to their weighty stakeholdings. But investors will have to move quickly to capitalise on this one-off benefit before the market discount sets in, say analysts.

Klaus Schlote, an analyst with Dresdner Kleinwort Benson in Frankfurt, says: 'We are already seeing the initial positive effect from selling domestic assets being discounted.