FOR THE ENVIRONMENT'S SAKE: Siemens invests heavily in the research and development of environment-friendly technologies and home appliances as part of its contributions to a greener world (XIAO HEI)

Green is in. And green technology is set to become the next cash cow for major appliance, automobile and industrial equipment manufacturers. Despite daunting financial challenges, the world's appetite for environment-friendly technologies has remained insatiable.

"China's demand for environmental technologies will remain robust," said Richard Hausmann, President and CEO of Siemens Ltd. China. "This will continue to be a strong growth area for Siemens."

The industrial and engineering giant Siemens AG is well positioned to increase its business in China, which is heavily promoting environment-friendly technology applications as part of the government's huge economic stimulus package. The country is expected to promulgate its draft plan for new energy development, but details have not been disclosed to the public yet.

Siemens expects green technologies to generate 40 percent, or approximately 60 billion yuan ($8.8 billion), of its global orders in the next three fiscal years from 2010 to 2012. These technologies are believed to be the major factor that will boost the company's revenue amid the economic downturn.

As Peter Löscher, Siemens worldwide CEO, said in May, "The crisis has arrived at Siemens, but Siemens is not in crisis!"

Tapping the Chinese market

One of the reasons Siemens has not succumbed to the crisis is because its Chinese operations have added much value to the parent company's global business, Hausmann said.

China's stimulus package has started showing encouraging results, as reflected by an increasing number of orders for the company. In response to the country's 4-trillion-yuan ($586 billion) stimulus package, Siemens has already enhanced its footprint in the country by grabbing additional market share and shoring up its investment here.

Two months after China proposed its new medical reform package in April, Siemens entered a cooperative agreement with Weikang Medical Group in Shenyang in which the former will provide a complete set of radiological and in-vitro diagnostic equipment to Weikang Hospital. The agreement will add 70 million yuan ($10.2 million) to Siemens's checkbook.

The company also has been beefing up its investment in China in line with the national policy of developing clean technologies. In May, the company started operating its first wind turbine manufacturing plant in Shanghai—its first such project here—after an initial investment of approximately 581 million yuan ($85 million). Wind power is one of the renewable energies included in the government's eco-friendly policy. China expects to increase its wind power capacity between 4 and 5 percent from the current 1 percent by 2020, opening a big market for the industry.