Davos 2023| “We are carefully optimistic about India and the global economy”: Siemens’ Matthias Rebellius 

German conglomerate Siemens AG, which has invested more than 5 billion Euros in various infrastructures in India, is staying bullish on the Indian market and the global markets even as it remains cautious of the tight macroeconomic conditions.

“We are not sure when, how much, and where the impacts of the recession will be seen. It will not be the same everywhere around the world…And talking about India, I do see continued investment. So I'm carefully optimistic for India, but also for the global economy,” said Matthias Rebellius, Member, Managing Board of Siemens AG and CEO of Smart Infrastructure.

Even with the looming fear of recession, the companies especially in the capital goods and engineering goods manufacturing have witnessed strong order bookings until now, but sentimentally, global orders may see some softening, say experts.

In fact, At the end of the September quarter, Siemens’ total order book stood at Rs 17,183 crore.

“We see continued investment in India in various infrastructure, 5G equipments, electro-mobility…We do see optimism in our order book as well,” Rebellius said.

Talking to Moneycontrol on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum 2023 at Davos, Rebellius said that Siemens is investing in renewable energy and electric grids to support India doing the energy transition towards cleaner energy.

“We are investing in renewable energy and Also in terms of electro-mobility. So, we provide charging infrastructure and the electrification to it and this is a big segment for us…Siemens is important for India and India is important for Siemens as well,” he said.

Siemens gained the spotlight in December, winning a huge Rs 26,000 crore order from Indian Railways, and the contract for the same.

Talking about investments in 5G infrastructure, Rebellius said that Siemens is supporting the 5G industry with its electrification equipment and estimates more new use cases to arise.

“We are not building 5G networks ourselves but we are supporting the 5G industry with our electrification equipment. This plays an important role in IoT connectivity…So, new use cases will arise and we also will see this in intelligent infrastructure and buildings, in grids and in industries,” he said.

Siemens is also working closely with startups through its venture capital arm based in Silicon Valley, Next47.

“Next47 is our startup venture capital company, working together with startups around the globe and also in India, in of course…It is important, especially in a more complex, fragmented world,” he said.

During Q4 of FY22, Siemens reported a Revenue of €20.6 billion, up nearly 18% year-on-year. Its net income more than doubled to €2.9 billion for the quarter due to the strong performance of the Industrial Business.