General Electric Co. is talking with Asian investment funds about forming global partnerships similar to a joint venture with an Abu Dhabi government investment firm announced earlier this year.
The Fairfield-based conglomerate, which makes jet engines, water treatment systems and owns NBC Universal, was discussing possible partnerships with sovereign wealth funds in China and Singapore, said Elma Peters, a GE spokeswoman in Brussels.
The funds include China Investment Corp., Government of Singapore Investment Corp., Temasek Holdings Pte of Singapore and China Safe Investments Ltd., she said.
A company spokesman at GE’s headquarters, Gary Sheffer, said in a statement that GE was not seeking a capital investment in the company.
The talks follow GE’s announcement of a joint venture this summer with Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Co., a sovereign wealth fund in the Middle East, Peters said.
GE’s chief executive, Jeffrey Immelt, “is talking about a similar deal” with the Asian sovereign wealth funds, Peters said.
In July, GE and Mubadala said they had agreed to create a jointly owned commercial finance venture, with each allocating $4 billion in equity over a three-year period.
The $8 billion venture, headquartered in Abu Dhabi, aims to expand GE’s opportunities around the globe, especially in the Middle East and Africa, and will have targeted assets of more than $40 billion.
GE also said at the time that it planned to commit up to $50 million for global investments in clean technology and companies that reduce dependency on traditional energy sources.
Additionally, Mubadala intended to invest up to $200 million in GE Industrial Investment Partners, a new partnership of global investors that would provide capital to companies in the health care, energy and transportation industries.
At 11 a.m., GE shares traded at $13.20, up 36 cents, or 2.8 percent. (AP)
