ThyssenKrupp sees 10 pct China sales growth

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Germany's ThyssenKrupp (TKAG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) expects to maintain its roughly 10 percent annual sales growth in China over the next three to five years, banking on a strong economy to fuel demand for industrial products from elevators to auto parts.

Sales in China, its largest market in Asia, are expected to top 1 billion euros ($1.36 billion) in the fiscal year to September 30, up from 955 million euros in the previous year, Alfred Wewers, chief executive of ThyssenKrupp's China operations, said during the Reuters China Century Summit on Tuesday.

"As far as the economic development of China is concerned, there will be room enough for significant growth for the next 30, 40, 50 years," Wewers told Reuters in an interview.

Global sales are expected to exceed 50 billion euros in the 2006/07 fiscal year, up from 47.1 billion euros a year earlier, he added.

ThyssenKrupp, founded in 1991 after the merger of two German industrial groups, runs a stainless steel venture with Baosteel (600019.SS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), China's biggest steel mill, with a total investment of $1.4 billion.

It also makes galvanized steel sheet in the northeast in partnership with Angang New Steel (0347.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), with plans to double annual capacity to 800,000 tonnes by next year.

Wewers, who joined the firm more than 30 years ago, ruled out any major near-term investments in China's steel sector, which made up roughly 40 percent of its China sales in the last fiscal year, due in part to regulatory curbs.

However, he saw more opportunities for growth in the firm's manufacturing business, given the country's insatiable appetite for industrial products.

ThyssenKrupp delivered 41 high-speed elevators to the Shanghai World Financial Centre, China's tallest building, which is set for completion in the spring of 2008.

The company is also supplying boarding bridges to Beijing Capital International Airport's expansion project.

Wewers expected ThyssenKrupp to land more orders for industrial goods as new high-rise buildings spring up across the country and as airports ramp up capacity ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympic games and the 2010 Shanghai World Expo.

The company also unveiled plans last week to build a 130 million euro plant in the eastern city of Nanjing, near Shanghai, to make 345,000 crankshafts per year.

ThyssenKrupp started making auto parts in China more than 10 years ago, supplying Volkswagen AG (VOWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), BMW AG (BMWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and other long-time clients which are increasingly counting on China as a major growth driver.

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