Siemens CEO Peter Löscher said on Monday that his company would invest €1 billion (approx. $1.4 billion USD) in Russia over the next three years in an effort to expand its presence in the country.
Speaking at the annual meeting of the Foreign Investment Advisory Council in Moscow, Löscher said the company would primarily focus on power generation and transmission, mobility and urban infrastructure, including transportation.
Among the company's plans:
Siemens says it sees Russia as a "strategic core market" and has about 4,000 employees posted in the country across 30 cities. Last year it generated about €1.2 billion ($1.65 million USD) in revenue from the country from orders of about €2.6 billion, or about $3.6 billion USD.
The stakes are high: As the world's fourth-largest producer of electricity (behind the U.S., China and Japan), Russia is a priority for any multinational conglomerate, particularly one so heavily invested in the energy sector. It's also a good bet for transportation; the continent-spanning country has the world's second longest rail network.
The question is whether Russia's new administration -- whoever runs it, though prime minister Vladimir Putin is a favorite to reclaim the presidency -- will be welcoming to business. Russia's grid operator the Federal Grid Company has plans to invest €12 billion in grid upgrades and Russian Railways announced plans to invest €300 billion for new trains through 2030; is there room for the German giant?
Photo: Siemens
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com