General Electric Co. (IW 500/6), which bought Alstom SA’s energy units last year, will be flexible and build a relationship with the next president of the U.S., whether it’s Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, Vice Chairman John Rice said.
“We will operate with whoever is the president of the United States in January,” though GE doesn’t agree with some of the rhetoric out of the election season, Rice said in an interview at the Bloomberg Markets Most Influential Summit in Hong Kong Wednesday. “We can’t rely on one country, one institution.”
GE is expanding globally, with more than half of its sales coming from outside the U.S. last year, and will focus on countries where there are growth opportunities, said Rice. The company did its first project finance in Argentina in 20 years earlier this year and is looking at 180 countries around the world, he said.
“We’re going to be challenged for growth in some areas,” he said. The company is investing in clean water, power and health care because “the needs of that billion and a half has to be met and we have a portfolio of businesses that can be aligned for that.”
By Chris Cooper and Shery Ahn
