Last year was a strong year for both the company's business and organizational development, said Brice Koch, who took over as chairman and president of ABB China this January.

Koch, who is also president of ABB North Asia, said that from 2005 to 2006, ABB China's orders rose 26 percent to $3.1 billion, and revenue increased by 19 percent to $2.8 billion.

The company's success in the Chinese market has been driven by the country's continuous economic growth and strong demand for technologies that increase energy efficiency, power grid reliability and industrial productivity.

According to ABB's 2006 annual report, released in Zurich on February 15, the group did well in every region worldwide.

Its fastest-growing markets after China are the Middle East, where order growth increased by 54 percent, Central and Eastern Europe, where order growth increased by 49 percent, and India, where order growth increased by 39 percent.

Globally, ABB Group's net income rose 89 percent, while its orders rose 22 percent to $28 billion and revenue increased 11 percent to $24 billion.

In 2006, ABB moved the global headquarters of its robotics division, and its marine, power electronics and metal business units to China.

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