Thaindian News

Bangalore, Sep 26 (IANS) General Electric (GE) chief executive Jeffrey R. Immelt Monday sounded optimistic about the world economy weathering the present crisis and averting another global recession.

“At a time of global volatility, we see robust demand for our infrastructure products. We still feel quite good about the prospects on a global basis for the industry we are in,” Immelt told reporters here.

Allaying fears over the global economy heading for a double-dip recession, Immelt said there were no such signs, as underlying business was better than the prevailing mood.

“I travel a lot around the world and people are concerned about the economy slowing. I don’t have to feel that bad about it honestly. Underlying business is better than the current mood. When I come to India, I feel businesses are still robust here compared to my last trip in March,” he asserted.

Clarifying that most businesses, like him, do not see a double-dip recession coming, Immelt said though the economy was slower in the developed world despite reasonable activity, it was quite strong in the emerging world.

“Emerging markets are critical for us, just as it is for Siemens, United Technologies or Rolls-Royce or any other industrial company,” he pointed out.

Emerging markets are projected to contribute $35 billion in 2011 for the $150-billion US-based global conglomerate.

“Yet, the US is a very big market for us and others. We have lot of jobs in the US. We are the second largest exporter after Boeing. We need to service the market and we are dedicated to creating good jobs in the US as in India and we don’t see those two in conflict,” Immelt observed.

Reiterating that the growth of infrastructure sector would continue to be robust, the top executive said sectors such as aviation, energy and transportation were quite healthy in the US market.

Admitting that the unemployment rate in the US remained high at 9.1 percent, Immelt said that job creation during the recovery was not as strong as anyone would like and it was below previous recoveries.

“Our focus is on a non-partisan, kind of programmatic approach to job creation. We will focus on training people for about two million currently open jobs, rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure and focusing on small, fast-growing businesses,” Immelt, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Jobs and Competitiveness Council, added.