Bosch to invest SG$21 million in Singapore

German technology giant Bosch has said it plans to pump SG$21 million (US$14.26 million) into Singapore over the next five years. It has been expanding its operations in the country and has set up an Asia-Pacific research and development (R&D) and sales headquarters in April 2009 to help develop expertise for new areas in healthcare and energy management. Green technology is an area the firm is keen on and has included trial runs for biodiesel cars and the development of solar cell technology. Its SG$92 million (US$62.47 million) Southeast Asian headquarters building has received the national Green Mark Platinum award. Last year, Bosch’s sales in Southeast Asia grew 5% from a year ago, reaching SG$790 million (US$536.39 million) and bucking the group’s worldwide sales drop of 2.6% to SG$93.8 billion (US$63.69 billion). Singapore accounted for about SG$204 million (US$138.51 million) of Bosch’s sales last year. (May 14, 2009)