Siemens to invest 346 million dollars in India

NEW DELHI (AFP) – German industrial group Siemens said Tuesday it would spend 16 billion rupees (346 million dollars) in India, mainly in renewable energy, as part of a drive to step up investment in the country.

As part of its plan, Siemens has allocated five billion rupees to build wind turbines for the energy-hungry market, the first of which should be ready by 2012.

"Our goal is to strengthen our position as the leading provider of green infrastructure solutions in India's booming market," Siemens chief executive Peter Loescher told reporters in New Delhi.

The money will be ploughed in over the next three years.

Siemens, which has a presence in many different areas in India from energy and healthcare to information technology, also said it planned to boost its workforce in the country to 25,000 by 2012 from 17,000 currently.

The jobs announcement came days after Siemens, which has been operating in the subcontinent for 140 years, announced it would eliminate 1,990 German jobs in its machine tool and industrial services divisions.

However, Loescher said the decision to add jobs in India and cut them in Germany was unrelated.

"The growth of India and other emerging countries is remarkable. These countries will prosper in 2010 and beyond," he said. "That's why we're expanding our presence here."

Loescher was part of a business team accompanying German President Horst Kohler who arrived Monday for a six-day visit to meet Indian political leaders and explore ways to boost trade and investment between the countries.