Siemens Venture Capital to expand Israel investments

TEL AVIV, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Siemens Venture Capital, a subsidiary of Siemens (SIEGn.DE), said on Monday it plans to expand its investments in Israeli companies.

The venture capital firm, which until now invested only in communications companies in Israel, said it will also invest in the medical equipment, energy, water and industrial sectors.

To date, Siemens has invested $150 million in Israeli start-ups and venture capital funds. Its investments include Alvarion (ALVR.O) (ALVR.TA), a maker of WiMax modems and equipment, and video conferencing systems maker Radvision (RVSN.O) (RVSN.TA).

Siemens Venture Capital has invested more than 700 million euros ($1 billion) in over 100 start-ups and 35 venture capital funds, mainly in the United States, Europe and Israel. (Reporting by Tova Cohen; Editing by David Holmes)