Bosch Plans Big Investment Drive in China

Robert Bosch, the German maker of car parts and industrial goods, is on the look-out for new acquisitions and is also planning to invest €550 million ($736 million) in boosting its presence in China, two top company executives revealed on Thursday. Bosch chairman Franz Fehrenbach told financial daily Börsen-Zeitung that the German privately-owned group was keeping an eye out for acquisitions in areas where Bosch is already active. The investments in China would expand Bosch's manufacturing activities in the country. Bosch aims to increase its sales in China from about €1.3 billion in 2004 to €5 billion by 2013. Rudolf Colm, board member responsible for the group's Asian-Pacific activities, said he saw "enormous potential" for Bosch's automotive business in China, with sales of cars and commercial vehicles there to reach 10 million in 2010, compared with a projected 5.2 million in 2004.