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| GE in talks with four Asian SWFs |
| Bloomberg / New York Nov 21, 2008, 00:26 IST |
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General Electric Co, down 61 per cent this year in New York, is seeking funds from China Investment Corp, Government of Singapore Investment Corp and at least two other sovereign-wealth funds.
Talks are also being held with Temasek Holdings Pte of Singapore and China Safe Investments Ltd, Brussels-based spokeswoman Elma Peters said in a phone interview today. China Investment Corp is the nation's $200 billion sovereign wealth fund.
Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt has lowered his 2008 profit target twice and last month he raised an additional $3 billion in the sale of preferred shares to investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Asian talks follow an $8 billion venture with Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Development Co as GE taps infrastructure spending outside the US, where a recession is deepening. Getting partners to become shareholders has the added advantage of establishing a more stable investor base.
Talks with “a number” of sovereign wealth funds interested in water-technology projects have been held, Steve Bolze, who runs GE's power and water unit, said on Wednesday in a phone interview from Belfort, France.
GE, based in Fairfield, Connecticut, was little changed at $14.40 in German trading as of 12:17 pm local time.
Peters confirmed earlier comments from GE international head Ferdinando Beccalli-Falco, reported by the Financial Times Deutschland. Jennifer Lewis, a spokeswoman at GIC, declined to comment on the report, as did a spokeswoman for Temasek.
Asia has attracted global engineering companies, including Siemens AG of Germany and Alstom SA of France, as governments build-out power networks and infrastructure. China plans to spend almost $150 billion over five years to bolster networks after power demand outstripped capacity, causing blackouts.
GE's third-quarter earnings rose 31 per cent at its Energy Infrastructure division, which supplies power-plant equipment.
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