Overview of the international competitiveness of
Chinese construction firms
Puying Li
Ali Parsa
Simon Huston
Anil Kashyap
Ph.D. flow diagram
Conceptual
RO1: pathway
RO2: competitiveness on
construction
RO3: global construction
market
Exploratory
Reflexive
RO4: Methodology
RO8: Corroboration
RO5: primary data
analysis
RO9: Conclusion
RO6: model
Operation
RO7: model test
Data\Methodology
• Literature review of the China and global
construction market
• Secondary statistical data analysis (the China
statistical yearbook, Engineering news records
and government reports)
• SWOT analysis
The current issues of Chinese construction firms (CCFs)
CCFs have captured the market lead in the
African construction market, but challenges in
the European and American markets still
remain.
The CCFs’ international revenue still lower
than Western counterparts.
Global construction market
Figure 1: the international revenue by top international constractors
international revenueUS$ MIL
543840.4
510878.5
452898.9
390007.7
383732.3
383511.3
309782.9
224427.8
167241.9
189412.2
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Source: 1. Top 225 international contractors (ENR2003-2012)
2. Top 250 international contractors (ENR 2013-2014)
2010
2011
2012
2013
Global construction market
Figure 2: The international revenue of region by top international contractors in last decades.
Source: 1. Top 225 international contractors (ENR2003-2012)
2. Top 250 international contractors (ENR 2013-2014)
The historical developments of Chinese construction firms
Post-2000s
1970s – 1990s
Pre-1970s
Worked on a nonprofit basis on
agreed projects to
satisfy target plans
Reform of
company structure
and ownership to
meet the demands
of international
construction
markets
Emergence in global
construction
markets
Case: Chinese Communication Construction
Company Ltd.takeover of John Holland
Ranking No.10 of top
international contractors
Subsidiary of GRUPO ACS,
Spain, which is ranking No. 1 of
top international contractors
Case: WestConnex M4 East Motorway project in Australia
Chinese construction firms’ share in the global market
Figure 5: The market share of top 250 international contractors in 2013
Source: top 250 international contractors (ENR, 2014:8)
Chinese construction firms’ share in the global market
Figure 6: Annual turnover value of CCFs in different global construction market
Source: China Statistical Yearbook (2005-2014)
SWOT analysis of Chinese construction firms in global market
Harmful
External
Internal
Helpful
Strengths
Weaknesses
•
•
•
•
Human resource capabilities
Lower bidding price
Advanced technology
Good relationship with
developing countries
• Financial support by state-owned
banks
• Lack of professional project
managers
• Absence of design capability
Opportunities
Threats
• Government encouragement and
promotion
• Good relationship with
developing countries
• Asian Infrastructure Investment
Bank (AIIB) was initiated by
China
• High business risk
• High political risks
The international competitiveness of Chinese
construction firms
Cheaper project cost
Experienced in working abroad
The high level of productivity
Advancement technologies
The special loan interest from the China Stateowned bank
The Bilateral and Multilateral agreements
supported by the Chinese government
Suggestions
Improve technology to support excellent
project quality;
Innovate in finance to achieve more
international revenue and turnover value,
thus improve rank/position in the global
market.
Develop project management skills to control
energy saving, risk avoidance and project
progress.
Further research steps
• Analytical review of portfolio management
(finance, human resource, technology etc. ) to
compare performance of top international
and Chinese construction firms
• Develop competitiveness model and
benchmarking tool
• Expert interviews (Delphi method) and
intensive research on selective firms (case
studies)
References:
 China Statistical Yearbook (2004-2014).
 Engineering News Records (2004-2014). The top 250 international
contractors.
 Ministry of Commerce of China (2014).
 Pheng, L. S. and Jiang, H. B. (2003). Internationalization of Chinese
construction enterprises. Journey of Construction Engineering and
Management, 129(6): 589-598.
 State Council of China (2014)
 Yan, Z. K. (2005). Human Resource Management under the strategy
of Chinese construction enterprises going overseas. Railway
Construction Technology. 22(4): 12-20.
 Zhao, Z. Y. and Shen, L. Y. (2008). Are Chinese contractors
competitive in international market? Construction Management
and Economics, pp. 255-236.
 Zhu, Y. (2006). Making the international contraction enterprise.
Construction Economy , 27(1): 70-72.