Siemens to invest nearly 5b euros in R&D in 2016

[FRANKFURT] German engineering giant Siemens said Tuesday it plans to increase spending in research and development to close to five billion euros next year and will open a new research centre in China.

"In 2016, Siemens will invest around 4.8 billion euros (S$11.4 billion) in research and development, some 300 million euros more than last fiscal year," Siemens said in a statement.

R&D spending had therefore increased by about 20 per cent since 2014, the statement said.

"In fiscal 2015, research intensity - defined as the ratio of R&D expenditures to revenue - was 5.9 per cent, an increase of 0.3 percentage points over the prior year." As part of a move to expand its R&D collaborations with top universities, Siemens said it would establish a new research centre on the campus of Munich's Technical University which would "focus on everything from IT security to autonomous systems." In addition, "Siemens will also establish a new innovation centre in China. The more than 300 employees will conduct research in new digitalisation solutions for both the Chinese and international markets," it continued.

China is a key market for Siemens and the plans to build a new research centre is a signal that the German giant is not being put off by the economic slowdown there.

AFP