Bayer expects Asia sales up 60 pct by 2015

German drug giant Bayer AG said Wednesday to expect its revenue in Asia to jump by more than 60 percent to over 11 billion euros (14.9 billion U.S. dollars) by 2015. Bayer's revenue in Asia hit 6.9 billion euros last year, accounting for 20 percent of the company's global revenue, Bayer CEO Marijn Dekkers said at a press conference in Shanghai. Meanwhile, its revenue in greater China is expected to more than double to 6 billion euros by 2015 from 2.9 billion euros in 2010, Dekkers said. In addition, Bayer expected its sales in India to double to 1 billion euros by 2015 from 500 million euros in 2010 and the sales in Japan to grow to 2.4 billion euros by 2015 from 2 billion euros in 2010, he said. Bayer plans to invest 1.8 billion euros on production facilities, sales network and research and development in Asia over the next five years to cash in on the region's strong growth momentum, the CEO said. During the period, the number of employees in Asia could increase from 23,700 to more than 30,000 by 2015, he added.