Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.
Hyundai aims to win $11 bil. deals abroad
This is a fertilizer plant in Qatar built by Hyundai Engineering & Construction (E&C) / Courtesy of Hyundai E&C
By Yi Whan-woo
By Yi Whan-woo
Hyundai Engineering & Construction (E&C) aims to become a global market player by setting for itself the goal of achieving overseas construction deals worth $11 billion or more this year. Korea’s No.1 builder seeks to ensure that 70 percent of its future deals will be from overseas. The current portion of its overseas projects was valued at $10.5 billion representing 70 percent of its deals as of 2012.
Since 1965, Hyundai E&C has won overseas deals worth $96.9 billion from 54 countries around the world, in the Middle East, Asia, Americas, and Europe.
This figure, the highest among Korean construction companies, accounts for 17 percent of the total deals won by Korean builders.
“Our success is attributed to expansion into new markets, development of a new growth model, and enhancement of our competitiveness,” the company said in a statement. “And we’re confident we’ll be able to break our current record this year.”
The firm has expanded its market from the Middle East, its stronghold in the 1980s, to Central and South America as well as Africa in recent years.
In 2010, it made forays into Africa by winning a contract in Ivory Coast to build a power plant.
It later won a $2.95 billion deal in Venezuela last year to construct an oil plant under a project ran by Petroleum of Venezuela (PDVSA), a state-owned oil and natural gas company.
It also formed a consortium with other Korean firms including Hyundai Corporation to win a $630 million order in Uruguay for the construction of a thermal plant.
Some 61 percent of the deals it won last year came from regions outside the Middle East.
One of the firm’s latest international markets is Uzbekistan, where it won an $819 million deal to build two thermal power stations, in March.