* CEO says Europe is going to be slow growth “for a long
time”
* Developing economies remain a key focus
* Company plans to continue pruning back GE Capital
By Nick Zieminski
NEW YORK, May 3 (Reuters) – General Electric Co
expects Europe to experience an extended period of slow economic
growth, but sees Algeria, South Africa, Turkey, Venezuela,
Indonesia and Peru as the next markets where the company is
likely to reach the billion-dollar revenue mark.
“Europe is going to be slow growth for a long time. If they
allow a bank to bust like what happened here in September 2008,
it could be worse. So count on Europe being slow,” said the
company’s chief executive, Jeff Immelt, at a conference on
managing risk in New York, organized by the Simon Graduate
School of Business.
The collapse of Wall Street investment bank Lehman Brothers
at that time helped set off the global financial crisis.
The largest U.S. conglomerate has increasingly focused its
growth efforts on so-called resource-rich countries that have
large supplies of energy or minerals.
GE aims to focus its acquisition efforts on buying new data
analytics technologies, but Immelt does not expect the maker of
products ranging from jet engines to light bulbs to transform
itself into a software company.
Continued…
