MENA region props up recovery for ABB

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ABB reports in its latest business forecast that its biggest jump in orders has come from the MENA region, up 27% in local currencies. “We feel more confident about the recovery in most of our markets than three months ago,” said chief executive Joe Hogan.

“After the worst economic recession seen in decades, customers are returning to invest in energy-efficiency solutions for both power and automation. We expect customer capex, especially on the power side, to recover later in 2010 and into 2011,” said Hogan.

While customers were still delaying orders, Hogan warned that “the backlog for power systems is reaching record highs". On July 16 the group received its largest power order to date, a US$700 million contract for Transpower of Germany.