Johannesburg — GLOBAL electronics and electrical engineering firm Siemens yesterday praised the South African government for not chopping and changing its policies -- a consistency that the company said was key to further attracting foreign investment into Africa's largest economy.

A member of the Siemens managing board, Siegfried Russwurm, said in an interview that stable economic policies were crucial for any country seeking to attract investment. He noted that the government's performance so far had been impressive.

"I am very positive about SA, in particular the investment climate which is very predictable, which for multinational companies like us and other foreign investors is very important," Russwurm said in Sandton, where he announced that the group had so far won orders worth €1bn for infrastructure projects linked to the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

Siemens had also won an order worth €18m to supply IT software to 37 hospitals and 300 clinics in SA over the next three years.

Russwurm said at least 80% of the World Cup contracts were energy-related projects, including new power plants that it had built in Cape Town and Mossel Bay. The plants would help Eskom manage the expected peak load demand during the winter period when the World Cup is held.

Other projects related to providing solutions to efficiently distribute power on the national grid.

"These orders demonstrate the strengths of Siemens' portfolio across the entire energy field," he said.

Russwurm also announced the appointment of South African Stuart Clarkson as CE of the group's local unit. Clarkson's key challenges would include expanding the business and playing an integral role in growing the Siemens footprint across Africa.

Clarkson said he expected business growth to come mainly from the healthcare and energy sectors, the former because of the growing need to provide affordable health solutions to the country's growing population.

He said Siemens' future was bright given the government's multibillion-rand infrastructure programme and its fiscal prudence. He was looking forward to expanding Siemens' role and contribution to the growth of the SA economy.