Wonderland Wire

20 Apr 09 | FT

General Electric and Cisco Systems hailed yesterday a new “era of public-private partnerships” that will enable companies to win a large share of the billions of dollars spent by governments around the world to stimulate their economies.

The statement by two of the largest US multinationals underlines corporate America’s realisation that governments have become increasingly important customers at a time when companies and consumers have been hit by the slowdown.

After launching a $200m investment in Miami’s electricity grid to be partly funded by federal grants, Jeff Immelt, GE’s chief executive, and John Chambers, his Cisco counterpart, said companies would have to work more with governments.

“This is going to be the era of more public-private partnerships,” said Mr Immelt, whose strategy to focus GE on economic “mega-trends” such as healthcare and the environment has brought the conglomerate closer to governments. >>>

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