For 148 years, Siemens has been active in Southern Africa, where it holds leading positions in its Industry, Energy and Healthcare Sectors, while Siemens IT Solutions and Services functions across all three Sectors. South Africa’s national energy challenge, coupled with the hosting of the Soccer World Cup 2010, has created a number of business opportunities for Siemens. The first new power stations in South Africa's democratic era provided by Siemens, namely the open cycle gas turbine plants at Atlantis and Mossel Bay in the Western Cape, are helping to ensure the reliability of the country’s power supply. In fiscal 2008 (October 1, 2007 – September 30, 2008), sales to customers in South Africa amounted to more than EUR 637 million. New orders totaled nearly EUR 721 million. Siemens currently has more than 2 000 employees in South Africa.