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China's construction industry exports its expertise

By Si Tingting (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-28 09:04

Metallurgical Corporation of China is a major contractor for the Resorts World Sentosa project, including a Universal Studio theme park, in Singapore. Chinese construction companies' service exports are surging despite the global financial crisis. [China Daily]

The role of exports as the driver of China's economic growth is on the wane as the financial crisis drains external demands for manufactured goods.

However, China's construction industry has landed major contracts by learning how to export its expertise at a time when other countries are using stimulus plans to jumpstart their economies.

"As many countries have rolled out sizable economic stimulus plans, the majority of which go to infrastructure projects, these provide more opportunities for Chinese enterprises," said Yao Jian, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce.

Services revenues from overseas construction projects grew to $44.33 billion from January to August, up 34.7 percent from the same period last year, according to the ministry.

New contracts for overseas construction projects signed in the first eight months of 2009 totaled $82.2 billion, a 40.3 percent increase from the same period last year.

The surge in construction revenues from overseas is even more remarkable compared to a 22.2 percent drop in total exports during the first eight months of this year.

China Railway Construction, the world's sixth largest construction contractor, reported that the value of newly entered overseas contracts surged 98 percent in the first half, representing one-fifth of the total new contracts signed during the same period.

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Infrastructure investment has fueled China's growth in the past several decades, and it also helped to create a massive construction industry in China.

This is an industry with a track record of building some of the world's larger dams, tunnels, airports, bridges and more challenging highways and railways, while also creating internationally recognized modern structures such as the "Bird's Nest" and CCTV headquarters.

As a result, Chinese contractors are increasingly able to successfully compete for higher-value contracts in foreign countries due to that experience, said Nicholas Mak, director for research and consulting at Knight Frank, a real estate management and consulting house.

Also, there is no longer the perception of second-rate quality that beset Chinese firms when they first made forays abroad, Mak added.

Last year, 51 Chinese project contractors were listed among the world's top 225 international contractors.

In addition to their expertise, Chinese project contractors can provide overseas projects access to long-term, low-interest loans from China's State-owned banks, which are currently sitting on the world's biggest currency reserve worth more than $2.1 trillion.

Those loans can become especially valuable at a time when many construction projects around the world are being put on hold because of the global credit crunch.

Strong support

Support from the highest authority in China also has helped land major deals abroad.

In February, Chinese President Hu Jintao joined Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz to witness China Railway Construction sign a $1.78 billion contract to build the first phase of a special railway for Muslim pilgrims in Saudi Arabia.

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