To date, renewable energy has been the only one of Siemens' five energy businesses where orders climbed in the first half of this fiscal year (October 2008-April 2009), according to Bloomberg News. Meanwhile, renewable energy also had the highest profit margin and the fastest sales growth, according to a Siemens earnings release.

In February, the company announced an additional investment of 1.35 billion yuan ($198 million) in expanding its production capacities for alternative energies over the next three years, on top of the 10-billion-yuan ($1.46-billion) midterm investment it pledged in 2006.

Hausmann said he is optimistic about the company's operations in China because the country's economy is picking up.

"Signs are already visible that China's economy is catching up, and the 8-percent GDP growth target for 2009 is within reach," he said.

Hausmann declined to disclose Siemens China's revenue for the first six months of the year, but said the company was in a better position than it thought it could be amid such an economic downturn.

Environment friendly

Most Chinese know Siemens for its expertise in home appliances, such as refrigerators, washing machines and water heaters. In response to the Chinese Government's call for energy-conserving and environment-friendly products, Siemens is now heavily marketing energy-efficient home appliances.

At the 14th Annual China Construction and Urban Services Trade Show and Conference in Beijing on June 18, Wang Weiqing, General Manager of the Beijing Region of Siemens Home Appliances (China), said the company placed top priority on green technology innovation. For instance, it uses recyclable materials in its refrigerators and washing machines, and it was the first appliance manufacturer to introduce Freon-free refrigerators to Chinese consumers.

"When people become richer and more educated, they definitely have a growing awareness of environmental protection," said Wang, who considers Siemens's home appliances as high-end products with the most efficient use of energy.

By the end of May, Siemens home appliance sales secured double-digit growth year on year in China, a result that outshined that of its operations elsewhere in the world.

Wang said he was not too surprised by the result. "Quality is cheap," Wang said, explaining that while energy-efficient home appliances are a bit more expensive than others, consumers can save much more on their water and electricity bills and emit fewer greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Since the 1990s, the electricity required by Siemens's front loader washing machine has been reduced by 40 percent per kg of laundry, and its water consumption has been cut by about 70 percent.

Safe and sound

Globally, Siemens expects to win new orders of around 140 billion yuan ($20.5 billion) in the next three fiscal years from 2010 to 2012, most of which will be generated by government stimulus programs around the world. To overcome the global economic crisis, different countries have announced or started stimulus programs worth a total of about 19 trillion yuan ($2.8 trillion). In China, Siemens expects orders of roughly 20 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) stemming from the domestic stimulus program.

In Siemens's last fiscal year (October 1, 2007-September 30, 2008), approximately 180 billion yuan ($26 billion), or almost one quarter of its total revenue, was generated by products in its environmental portfolio, including wind turbines, steam turbines for solar thermal power plants, water purification products, and technologies such as air pollution control. The company intends to boost this figure to 238 billion yuan ($34.8 billion) a year by 2011.