Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and chief executive officer of General Electric, on Monday said it did not look like the world was heading for a double dip recession, stating that businesses in the US were in a much better mood than the economy. While announcing GE?s new integrated $200-million manufacturing facility in Pune, Immelt said the growth of emerging markets has become increasingly crucial for overall global progress. The Pune facility, which will create 2,000 jobs, will focus on localising GE products for the Indian market.
Immelt said it was premature to talk about a possible double-dip, and with emerging markets continuing to grow, these fears were misplaced. He also felt that multinational companies have continued to post impressive growth, even in the face of a slowdown.
?Look at Nike or Oracle. Both have turned in some impressive results,? said Immelt, emphasising why there is nothing wrong with global business, though US economic growth is currently below expectations.
?There are mixed sentiments globally. While economic growth in the US, Europe and Japan has been slow, that’s not been the case in emerging markets,? said Immelt.
Immelt, who is also the chairman of US president Barack Obama’s jobs council, said he wasn’t worried about creating jobs across the world. ?We go where the markets take us, as we have to take advantage of opportunities globally,? said Immelt, who is often criticised within the US for his aggressive globalisation drive. About 60% of GE’s business come from outside the US. Immelt said emerging markets like India should not be worried about growth and the pace of economic reforms.
?People here seem to be worried about economic growth slipping from 8% to 7.4%. Honestly, I don’t think that as being a problem,? he said.
GE, which is looking at doubling its overall exports in next five years, believe that scaling up exports would benefit other countries and create jobs for everyone, including the US. The company is seeing a whole lot of opportunities in the Indian infrastructure sector. 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.
?There is robust demand for our infrastructure products. We have been in India for many years and it is important for us to stay focused on our local customers,? Immelt said.