GE executives said that they planned to make India a major market and that revenue from India would more than quadruple, to $8 billion by 2010.
Pressure to slim General Electric’s corporate portfolio at home has not stopped Jeffrey Immelt’s aggressive plans for expanding in emerging markets.
Mr Immelt, GE’s Chairman and Chief Executive, said that India has “never offered us more potential than it does today.” GE plans to participate in the country’s “massive focus” on energy, he said, and will create a fund for infrastructure that could reach $1 billion. “This is the era of the developing world and of emerging markets,” Immelt said. As the US economy cools, GE and other large MNCs are shifting their focus to faster-growth economies.
Robust growth Immelt’s latest trip to India comes as the country’s economy hit a high. Figures released also showed that India’s gross domestic product grew by 9.4 percent in the year ended in March. Indian officials say they expect growth to continue above 9 per cent this year.
“If we can grow at the same pace as the Indian economy, we can be a great company,” Immelt said. Last year, GE executives said that they planned to make India a major market and that revenue from India would more than quadruple, to $8 billion by 2010.
Assets in India will also reach $8 billion by 2010, the company said. Immelt said that those goals were in sight: Revenue in India in 2007 should be $3 billion, out of $175 billion at GE, and by 2008 should reach $4 billion. GE should “blow right through” the target of $8 billion in Indian assets by 2010, he said. This year, GE will earn more revenue outside of the United States than in it.
GE said in April that first-quarter profit rose 2 percent, in part because of a focus on selling goods and consumer services in Asia and Middle East. Revenue in developing markets was up 14 percent in the quarter. Analysts suggested that NBC Universal and GE Money, are to streamline the company and improve stock performance.
Emerging markets Worldwide demand for infrastructure is “a stunning long-term trend,” Immelt said, and could require $4 trillion in overall global investment over the next eight years. Other macro themes include environmental technologies and opportunities created by changing demographics, like health care.
The visit by Immelt comes as US and Indian officials are in last stages of negotiating a deal to share civilian nuclear technology. The plan has been stalled several times, although an agreement could be struck this weekend when Nicholas Burns, US Under Secretary of State, comes to New Delhi. Immelt said he intended “ultimately to be a participant in the nuclear industry here.”
