Thermo sees acquisitions and China growth

By Bill Berkrot

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc's (TMO.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) chief executive sees China and India as opportunities for enormous growth for the laboratory equipment maker, with revenue from China doubling over the next five years.

"China is a huge growth area, and broader than life sciences, with infrastructure development and environmental," Thermo CEO Marijn Dekkers said at the Reuters Health Summit in New York.

"Right now China sales are about $300 million. We think it can grow for us 15 to 20 percent a year for the next five years, so it can double," Dekkers said.

He said in the first quarter of next year the company will introduce a Fisher catalogue in Chinese for the first time.

"We built a huge demonstration laboratory in Shanghai so customers can come see our equipment and instruments working," Dekkers said.

As China gears up for the 2008 Summer Olympics and the world spotlight, there has been increased demand for instruments that measure air and water quality. But Dekkers expressed concern that those initiatives could stall once the Olympic flame is extinguished.

"There's a lot of focus on air quality, but that might diminish once the Olympics are over," Dekkers said.

The demand for scientific instruments is expected to boom in India, Dekkers said, noting that 25 percent of patients participating in clinical drug testing trials are projected to be coming from India in five years.  Continued...