General Electric has been awarded a $950 million contract to supply gas turbines to three power plants in Saudi Arabia, the company's biggest gas turbine order in five years. The contract fits in with GE's increasing focus on emerging markets abroad as demand in the U.S. slows.

"It's one of the largest deals in the sector since the bursting of the U.S. energy bubble in the late 1990s," says John Krenicki, chief executive of GE Energy. "Demand for electricity is growing around the world and GE is in the sweet spot. We are a global company and will become even more so."

Demand for electricity in booming Saudi Arabia has increased by about 7 percent annually in recent years, double the world's rate. The Middle East is expected to provide GE with $3.4 billion in revenues this year. GE hopes to increase sales in developing markets to $40 billion in 2009, up from $27 billion this year.