The Hindu Business Line : GE aims to grow eight-fold in India: Immelt

The multinational will focus on sectors such as energy, oil and gas, financial services, water, and research and development to achieve this eight-fold rise in revenues, said Mr Jeffrey Immelt, Chairman and CEO, GE, in his address to the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Tuesday.

The company's India revenues last year touched $1.1 billion.

The multinational's focus on infrastructure will also intensify. An additional $100 million will be added to the GE India Development Fund which has already received $145 million (the proceeds received from the settlement of the Dabhol power project), said Mr Immelt.

Infrastructure financing

The emphasis on infrastructure will not just mean technology and engineering activities from GE, but also include infrastructure financing, he said.

The Development Fund will invest in Dr Naresh Trehan's Medicity project, an integrated healthcare facility in New Delhi. It will also invest in several clean energy projects, drinking water projects and in the aviation sector, said a statement from General Electric.

Financial services will be another focus area, with GE Consumer Finance aiming to double its revenues by 2010. Mr Immelt also detailed the company's significant new financial services goals. "GE is bullish about the financial services sector in India and will invest as appropriate to grow its commercial and consumer financial services businesses," he said. "We remain interested in entering the banking sector in India, in line with Reserve Bank of India guidelines."

Power and water needs

India's rapidly growing economy requires significant additional power generation capacity and new water infrastructure, providing opportunities for financial investment by GE's Energy Financial Services unit.

Its R&D activities will have a special India focus, seeking Indian technological models for Indian requirements, making use of the large number of engineers that GE employs here as well as the company's Global Research Centre in Bangalore.

Forging partnerships will be another important activity. The company sees itself partnering with companies or groups such as the Tatas, Reliance and Wipro, said Mr Immelt.

The next ten years will be critically important for India with respect to infrastructure and general economic development, he said.