General Electric Says China Sales to Reach $5 Billion (Update1)
Nov. 8 (Bloomberg) -- General Electric Co. the world's biggest company by market value, forecast its China sales will grow more than a third to $5 billion next year as economic growth fuels demand for its power generators and other equipment.
Sales will reach $3.5 billion this year from $2.6 billion in 2003, Steve Schneider, president of General Electric China, said at a press conference in Shanghai. The Fairfield, Connecticut-based company has invested $1.7 billion in China, increasing its employees to 12,000 from 7,000 two years ago, he said.
General Electric, which has hundreds of businesses, is betting that rising incomes and industrial expansion will boost demand for the company's turbines, water equipment, jet engines and financial services. China's economy grew 9.1 percent in the third quarter, the fastest pace of the world's 20 biggest economies.
``The opportunity in China is huge,'' Schneider said. ``There is no one business in GE today that's not doing well in China.''
bloomberg.com |
