Siemens eyes Asian markets to boost power generation business - executive
ADVERTISEMENTSiemens Power Generation Services, a unit of Germany's Siemens AG , is looking to Asian markets to grow its power generation business, the company's Chief Executive Officer Tim Holt said on Tuesday at a conference in Singapore.
"There are a couple of IPP (independent power producer) projects especially in the ASEAN region, clearly there are markets in Thailand and Malaysia, while Korea's new government is getting ready to have the next wave of investments," Holt said.
Siemens, like its main competitors in the natural gas-turbine market sector General Electric and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, have been hit hard by a drop in turbine sales in the last few years, forcing all three to lay off thousands of workers as renewables are competing with gas as a power source.
"Both Pakistan and Bangladesh are in discussion. There's also discussion on gas to power," Holt said on the sidelines of Singapore International Energy Week 2018.
India, however, has been fairly quiet in terms of adding new capacity, Holt said, adding there are a lot of local champions in the power sector, making it a little harder to penetrate.
"In the western world particularly, the cost of energy has been a big driver as environmental impact has driven them towards renewables, has taken the cost down and has driven the market penetration," Holt said.
"In the emerging world, it's more about the security... Across the globe, based on the portfolio, it'll be a little bit of different investment directions."
The company signed a memorandum of understanding with Iraq last week and is currently in discussions to help rebuild the country's electricity infrastructure, Holt said.
In September, Siemens signed a $352 million (276 million pounds) contract with Egypt to manage three new power plants built to plug a gap in the country's electricity needs.
