GE to double exports in 5 yrs; to focus on India

Pinning hopes on stronger Indo-US ties in the wake of US President Barack Obama's visit here, Global engineering firm General Electric (GE) today said it plans to increase exports to India.

The company said it is looking at doubling its overall exports in next five years.

"The rest of the world is growing very quickly... We have to be more focused on exports. It is our desire to double our exports in five years," GE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Jeffrey R Immelt told private news channel CNBC-TV18.

Obama arrived in Mumbai today as part of his three-day India visit that will focus on seeking greater access to Indian markets for American businesses, besides dealing with wide range of political issues.

Immelt said scaling up of exports by GE would also benefit other countries as it would create jobs in the rest of the world, besides the US.

India is a big market for engineering firms as there would be big focus on infrastructure development during the 12th Five year plan, which would commence in 2012.

Though the next Plan has not been unveiled yet, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has already indicated that investment in infrastructure would be doubled to $1 trillion during 2012-17, as against $500 billion in the current Plan.

GE is eyeing a big chunk of India's plan to add power generation capacity of 1,00,000 MW.

"We can create jobs in United States through exports. We can create jobs in India through supply chains and serving customers and doing engineering work,"  Immelt said, adding that it is a is win-win (for all).