Siemens to invest US$3b in Asia-Pacific by 2000
Siemens to invest US$3b in Asia-Pacific by 2000
By Aloysius Bhui
PENANG, Malaysia (JP): Siemens AG of Germany, a leader in
telecommunications, electronics and power generation businesses,
said that it will invest another US$3 billion in the Asia-Pacific
region by the end of the century.
"Further investments are required for the company to become an
integral part of the local economies we serve," Gunther William,
who oversees the Asia-Pacific for Siemens, said on Wednesday.
The press conference at Siemens' semiconductor plant in Penang
was attended by journalists from Indonesia, China, Taiwan, Hong
Kong, the Philippines, India, Pakistan, South Korea and
Australia.
Wilhelm said that Siemens has already invested more than $1.5
billion in the region.
"In line with the planned investment expansion, we also expect
to increase the local workforce from the current level of 45,000
people to around 70,000 by the year 2000," he said.
He reported that Siemens has witnessed fast growth in the
Asia-Pacific, and it projects a business volume of around $17
billion per annum by the year 2000. The region will account for
20 percent of the company's total business volume.
For the 1995/1996 fiscal year, ending Sept. 30, the company
expects total orders in the region to surge by 30 percent to $10
billion. The figure includes $8.5 billion from consolidated
companies and $1.5 billion from activities which have not yet
been consolidated.
Of the consolidated orders, $3.3 billion is expected from the
energy sector, $1.8 billion from telecommunications, $720 million
from components, $720 million from health care, $510 million from
transportation, $330 million from lighting and $180 million from
information technology.
Business volume in the Asia-Pacific grew from only $4.4
billion in the 1991/1992 fiscal year to $6.3 billion in
1993/1994, and is projected to increase to nearly $10 billion in
1995/1996.
For the current fiscal year, Siemens expects total orders of
between $64 billion and $65 billion and sales of roughly $60
billion.
Power generation
Wilhelm said that in the last five years, the company secured
orders for power plants with a total generation capacity of
18,000 megawatts (MW). Siemens currently has a 20 percent market
share in the region.
The managing director of Siemens Power Generation Asia Pacific
Sdn. Bhd., Jorge Haslestad, confirmed that in the current fiscal
year, Siemens has secured orders for thermal power plants in the
region with a total generation capacity of more than 6,000 MW.
About 3,000 MW of the orders are related to independent power
projects with Siemens equity participation.
"We welcome the opening up of the power generation business to
private investment," Haslestad said on Tuesday at the YTL Paka
power plant, which is located near the town of Kerteh in
Terengganu province.
Siemens Power Generation Asia Pacific Sdn. Bhd. is a fully-
owned subsidiary of Siemens AG established in Kuala Lumpur in
1993 to handle power plant projects in the Asia-Pacific region.
Haslestad said that this year, Siemens has won four projects
involving its own equity: the Rizhao project in China, the
Paguthan in India, the Paiton II in Indonesia and the Rousch in
Pakistan.
Wilhelm also said that the company will take advantage of the
rapid growth of the Asia-Pacific electricity market, which is
expected to grow 9.9 percent per annum from 1995 to the year
2000, compared with 5.4 percent in Europe and 6.7 percent in
North America.
He said that the Asia-Pacific's share of today's $2,140
billion world electricity market has grown from 13 percent in
1960 to about 38 percent at present.
Within the next ten years the Asia-Pacific will account for
nearly half of the world electrical market, he noted.
The world electricity market is expected to increase from
$2,140 billion presently to $3,000 billion in 2000, of which the
Asia-Pacific is likely to account for 40 percent of the total.
Wilhelm refused to disclose what proportion would be invested
in each country in the region, saying only that the company will
focus on its main business lines.
Commenting on Siemens' future plan in Indonesia, Wilhelm said
that the company is still looking for the most prospective
sector.
He said that in the next few weeks, the company's joint
venture with Indonesia's PT Trafindo Perkasa will build a plant
to produce fiber-optic cables.
"We expect to produce around 70,000 kilometers of fiber optic
cables per annum once the facility is fully operational," he
said.
Investment in the fiber-optic plant, according to Wilhelm, is
$25 million.