July 2 (Reuters) - Siemens Energy plans to

recruit more than 10,000 employees as it invests 1.2 billion

euros ($1.29 billion) in its electricity grid business over the

next six years amid a surge in demand for power, a company

executive said on Tuesday.

"In the next 15 years, we will see global investments in

the grid as large as those made in the last 150 years," said Tim

Holt, head of Grid Technologies.

"We want to participate in this boom," he said.

The Grid Technologies division has earmarked the 1.2 billion

euros for new factories and higher manufacturing capacity in the

United States, Europe and Asia, according to the Financial

Times, which had reported on the recruitment plans earlier in

the day.

About 40% of the new jobs will be added in Europe, while the

U.S. and India will each receive 20% and the rest will go

elsewhere in Asia and Latin America, according to the FT report.

A spokesperson for Siemens Energy told Reuters the jobs

in Europe would be created in Germany, the UK, Austria, Croatia

and, to a lesser extent, Romania.

There could be some hold-ups in getting backing for

expansion and refurbishment plans from capital markets hesitant

to fund energy transition investments, the FT report said,

quoting Holt.

"The market is getting tighter and tighter and we are going

to have to look at alternative ways to fund it," he told FT.

Siemens Energy, which was spun off in 2020, has seen its

shares fluctuate massively as it grapples with issues at its

loss-making wind turbine business Siemens Gamesa, which in May

unveiled sweeping changes as it strives for profitability.

($1 = 0.9318 euros)