Arcandor AG's (ARO.XE) filing for insolvency presents an opportunity to restructure for a better future, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday.

The filing for insolvency doesn't mean the end of the troubled retail and tourism company, "but offers the chance for a reasonable restructuring," Merkel said at the Day of Germany's Industry, organized by the BDI Federation of German industries.

She added that the decisions to let the retailer file for insolvency and help bail out General Motors Corp.'s (GMGMQ) German unit Adam Opel GmbH were right and she wouldn't have decided differently had Germany not been in the middle of election campaign.

She said that although there might be an overcapacity on the car market, Opel offers good products and an orderly insolvency wouldn't have been an option given the company's international ties.

She said Arcandor hadn't met the conditions required for government aid to be offered to companies hit by the financial crisis.

Arcandor last week filed for insolvency after the government rejected its plea for guarantees and a loan, calling for stronger participation of the retailer's owners, banks and landlords, in addition to concessions they made up to now.

However, the government bailed out Opel last month, preventing the company from filing for insolvency along with its U.S. parent company, GM, and selected Canadian car parts maker Magna International Inc. (MGA), together with its Russian partners as the preferred bidder for Opel.

It agreed on providing EUR1.5 billion in bridge financing from the federal and state governments, paving the way for a takeover by Magna and its two Russian partners, OAO Sberbank (SBER.RS) and troubled Russian automaker OAO GAZ Group (GAZA.RS).

In her speech, Merkel also said Germany will remain an export nation if it wants to maintain its prosperity.

"Are we dependent on exports? I believe there is no alternative to this because otherwise we will risk our prosperity," Merkel said.

The banking sector has improved so far that it is out of intensive care but now in rehabilitation, Merkel said.

She also said that governments around the globe must now do everything to prevent the financial and economic crisis from recurring, and this must be tackled on an international level. She also expressed concern that an improvement to the banking situation might make financial institutions less willing to implement rules.

"I don't won't to conceal my concern that as financial institutes are regaining strength the desire to implement fundamental changes is retreating," she said. "We have to do everything to prevent us heading directly toward such a next crisis."

The measures agreed by the Group of 20 summit in April must be implemented, Merkel said.

But she warned that "with a slight recovery in the London area, complaints and objections are growing" regarding the planned European financial supervision of cross-border operating banks.

With regard to German chipmaker Qimonda AG (QMNDQ), which recently filed for insolvency, Merkel indicated that the government should support it.

Cooperation is called for with AMD, Qimonda, Infineon - the only European cluster of chip producers - to help them survive, Merkel said.

She referred to U.S. chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD), which has a plant in the eastern German city of Dresden, and Infineon Technologies AG (IFX.XE).

She added that U.S. chip producer Intel Corp. (INTC) recently told her it has received help from the U.S. and therefore expects to survive.

-By Andrea Thomas, Dow Jones Newswires; +49-(0)30-2888-4126; andrea.thomas@dowjones.com