Overseas orders won by South Korean construction companies have fallen to their lowest levels in four years due to the low price of oil, a trade association said today.
The value of orders in the first six months of this year are down by 40% from the same period last year, according to the International Contractors Association of Korea.
Combined orders came to $14.1bn between January and the second week of June 2016, down from $23.5bn in the same period last year.
South Korean firms compete worldwide. Dubai’s Burj Khalifa (pictured) was build by a consortium including Samsung C&T.
The figures represent the lowest value of overseas orders since 2012, when South Korean construction companies won $13.7bn worth of work abroad.
The association blamed low oil prices for the drop, saying oil-producing countries are taking a harder look at the profitability of projects before placing orders, the Korean Herald reported.
Now the South Korean government is pushing to help local construction companies win overseas orders.
Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kang Ho-in visited Malaysia on yesterday in an apparent move to boost South Korean companies seeking to win a high-speed rail project that connects Malaysia to Singapore.
He also plans to attend the inauguration of the Panama Canal’s $5.25bn expansion later this month before visiting Chile.
Photograph:Dubai’s Burj Khalifa was build by a consortium including Samsung C&T (Burjkhalifa.ae)
