Siemens’ 2 billion-euro ($2.17 billion) investment plan, announced Thursday, is more than double the company's cumulative investment spending over the past two years and will create over a thousand jobs, CEO Roland Busch told Reuters.

The head of the German engineering giant, which said it will build new factories, research and development centers and training sites around the world, added that the company would soon announce “a next wave of investments” in Europe and the United States.

Busch told reporters that 1.2 billion euros had already been allocated and the bulk of the remainder will be spent to expand production in Europe and the United States.

“There’s strong demand from the market and that’s why we have to build up to capacity,” Busch said in an interview from Singapore, where Siemens plans to spend 200 million euros on a new plant for its industrial automation division.

Operational from October 2025, the factory will mainly serve Southeast Asian clients, he said, with more investments in the region and India likely once those markets expand.

Busch said that the company had raised its growth targets in all areas in which it is active, without giving details, saying Siemens is "bullish."

The company is seeking to diversify its supply chains, but it stressed that Siemens was not seeking any moves away from China.

“We will keep on investing in China, and defending and expanding our market share,” he said, a day after meeting with Chinese Industry Minister Jin Zhuanglong in Beijing.

Siemens also announced on Thursday it was investing 140 million euros to expand its digital factory in Chengdu, China.

He said there is high demand for its automation technology in China and he expects the Chinese market to pick up in the second half of the year.

($1 = 0.9223 euros)