FRANKFURT: Foreign investment in Germany stayed at the same level year-on-year in 2016, Germany’s trade and investment agency said on Thursday, despite the economy growing at its fastest rate for five years. The value of projects was stable at 6.2 billion euros ($6.9 billion) after having nearly doubled in the previous year to reach the highest level on record, according to the survey by government agency Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI). The agency said foreign investment created at least 29,000 new jobs in Germany and the number of foreign investors rose 2 percent, with 1,944 new projects started during the year. Germany’s economy – the biggest in Europe – grew 1.9 percent last year, driven by higher household and state spending, and picked up speed in the first quarter of 2017, expanding 0.6 percent from 0.4 percent in the last three months of 2016.