S.Korea's construction orders fall for 2 years on weak overseas demand

Source: Xinhua | 2018-08-29

Construction orders won by South Korean builders fell for two straight years to 2017 on weak overseas demand, statistical agency data showed Tuesday.

Local builders secured construction orders worth 267 trillion won (241 billion U.S. dollars) in 2017, down 2.5 percent from the previous year, according to Statistics Korea. It marked the second consecutive year of decline.

Orders won by local companies from overseas amounted to 26 trillion won (23.4 billion U.S. dollars) last year, down 16 percent from a year earlier. Overseas construction orders kept falling for five years from 2013.

Orders from Asia tumbled 38.2 percent, with those from Africa plunging 60.3 percent. Orders from the Middle East advanced 32.5 percent.