General Electric Co chief executive Jeff Immelt said Thursday he believed the global recession had hit bottom but said tougher business regulations would follow in its wake. He said many governments around the world had taken swift action to counter the severe economic downturn and pointed to vastly greater liquidity and access to capital that resulted.
"The capital market today has improved dramatically," Immelt told the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan. "I do think that the big crisis that we felt, the worst is over." But Immelt reminded fellow business representatives that global competition would be tougher after the crisis as governments tightened regulations, including environmental standards.
The financial services sector would go through dramatic restructuring due to new regulations and government involvement in business affairs, he said. "There is going to be more regulations," he said. "There is going to be very tight association between business and government.
"During the crisis, the governments moved in next door and they are not going to leave," he said. Businesses must be mindful of exploring new environmental businesses and prepare to eventually pay for carbon emissions, said Immelt, head of the world's biggest maker of power-generation equipment. A member of President Barack Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, Immelt said the US leader would face tough tests ahead, such as tackling dwindling jobs and facing the health care policy debate.