ABB plans US$150-mln investment in China this year

May 14, 2009 (China Knowledge) - ABB Ltd, the Swiss-Swedish engineering group, plans to invest US$150 million in 2009 to expand and develop its facilities in China despite the current global financial crisis, China Daily reported on Wednesday.

Joe Hogan, CEO of ABB, said he believes demand for the company's technologies, which improve industrial productivity, energy efficiency and grid reliability, will continue to grow as the government's stimulus package focuses on power infrastructure.

In the meantime, ABB's continued investment will contribute to China's economic growth and prepare the company for the eventual economic recovery, said Hogan, adding that ABB will secure huge business opportunities even in such a difficult economic situation because the Chinese government plans to improve energy efficiency by 20% between 2006 and 2010.

Global energy demand is set to surge more than 50% by 2030, and 30% of the global demand will come from China, said Brice Koch, president of ABB North Asia and chairman of ABB China.

ABB yesterday inaugurated a new multi-business manufacturing facility, namely ABB Engineering (Shanghai) Ltd, in Pudong New Area. The facility covers an area of 70,000 square meters and is expected to significantly improve production capacity.