German business giant Siemens announced here Monday that it will invest 1 billion euros (US$1.17 billion) in China in the coming few years in order to double its local sales in the medium term.

Highlighting Siemens' new 12-point program, entitled "Profit and Growth," which lays out its future business strategies in China, the investment plan was unveiled by Siemens AG President and CEO Heinrich v. Pierer while addressing a special ceremony to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the company's first representative office in China, set up in Shanghai in 1904.

"China, as we all know, is the market of the future... looking at all of our business activities in China, we see good chances of doubling today's sales of just under 4 billion euros (US$4.68 billion) in the next three to five years," Pierer said.

"We would thus grow faster than the Chinese market, and we would further increase China's share of our worldwide business."

China now stands as the third-most important market - only after the United States and Germany - for Siemens, which reported a global sales volume of 74.23 billion euros (US$86.8 billion) in its 2003 fiscal year.

The future investment in China will be mainly used to increase the production capacity and added-value of Siemens' existing operations in China, and strengthen its local sales as well as research and development capability, according to Pierer.

"I'm even not quite sure whether the investment would be sufficient to satisfy all the requirements we have and all the visions our business groups have so far," Pierer said.

Under Siemens' plan, the company will substantially add to the number of its regional representative offices from the current 28 to 60, and introduce into the market a "One Siemens" concept that aims to integrate its channels of providing products and services through bundling corporate competencies.

Meanwhile, Siemens' varied business units have revealed their ambitious targets and plans in China, as part of the two-point program.

For instance, its mobile telecommunications unit plans to increase the output capacity of its joint venture in Shanghai from the current 12 million units to 20 million units.

Siemens has also recently signed an agreement with Bird, a local handset producer based in Ningbo of Zhejiang Province, to establish a strategic partnership, under which Siemens-branded mobile phones can more easily access a nationwide dealership network.

(China Daily May 18, 2004)