Siemens China Wants to Grow

Weighing up Siemens' participation in China's economic boom, Hausmann seemed very satisfied with the results. "In incoming orders as well as in sales, we’ve had a growth rate of 21 percent over the past year. That shows that our solutions and products for China reflect the demands in the country."

Siemens’ turnover has almost reached 5.3 billion euros. According to Hausmann, transport has been a particularly successful area of business, for example railway and underground carriages. But Siemens has also made profit from Olympic projects.

"Altogether, we’ve made about 1.1 billion euros on projects which are somehow related to the Olympic Games here in Beijing," Hausmann calculated. "At the moment, we're very busy working on baggage delivery facilities for Beijing airport's Terminal 3. We're also providing all sorts of equipment for the swimming pool; as well as working on the underground and on water supply for the Olympic Village."

Green solutions

Siemens is looking to implement energy-saving solutions and efficient power generation in China. Approximately 50 percent of last year’s turnover was made in those areas. In China - where environmental damage is so immense that the costs of removing them would eat up most of the profits from the economic boom -- this kind of business profitable. With its green technologies, Siemens is at the forefront of the market, according to Hausmann.

"On the manufacturing side, we've just accomplished two big projects in China -- efficient gas and coal-powered plants. So more energy can be generated using less coal. On the users’ side, above all, you have to take into account that industry uses up a lot of power. We deliver load-dependent engines, and our subsidiary company Osram is also doing really well with its energy-saving lamps."

Unshakable confidence

Siemens is now also planning to enter the Chinese market with its wind energy-related products. Siemens is particularly hoping to have a supplier role in the planned high-speed railway between Shanghai and Beijing. Richard Hausmann remains optimistic despite the gruelling waiting period.

Hausmann is also unphased by the company's recent corruption scandal. He didn't want to go into detail, saying just that so far only forged receipts had been found.

China represents Siemens' most important Asian market, although more and more, the firm is looking at China's rival India.