At Christmas, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) had suggested that India might no longer be the booming region for all activities connected to software. Back then, it sounded like a christmas present to the people working in the IT-business in Europe and in the US. The FAZ reported that giants like Infosys and Tata were about to be hit by the boomerang of globalization: According to the FAZ, they were experiencing the same problems companies in industrialised nations suffer from: Employees claiming higher wages and benefits, decreasing margins, and raising competition from China and the Phillipines. Foreign investors were experiencing the same problems: According to the FAZ, SAP had granted its employees annual wage-increases of 15 percent.

Obviously, these changes have not impressed Siemens too much. Although China is still consider th of unlimited opportunities, Siemens is decided to expand its capacities in India as well. As Heinrich von Pierer, now in his new function as head of Siemens’ supervisory board, said yesterday, Siemens was about to invest € 390 million in new plants, in the expansion of locations, and in Research and Development. Von Pierer explained that the new capacities were not only designed to serve the local market in accordance to the principal of Global Competitiveness: “We consider India as basis not only for the local market, but for our global activities as well.“ This expansion is scheduled for the next three or four years. Siemens is going to increase the number of software-developers by 1.000 to then 4.000.