이 기사는 2021년 12월 27일 08시10분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

Two affiliates of South Korean conglomerate Samsung Group held the top spots in the country’s overseas construction contracts ranking as they succeeded in securing multi-billion dollar orders from foreign countries including the Middle East.

Samsung C&T’s construction division struck 10 overseas contracts worth a total of 8.27 trillion won ($6.97 billion), topping the ranking this year, according to data from the International Contractors Association of Korea as of December 23, 2021.


The company’s overseas contract value increased 4% from a year ago and nearly tripled compared to 2017.

The increase was driven by large projects worth $1 billion or more. Samsung C&T won an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract worth 2.54 trillion won from Qatar Petroleum for its North Field Expansion project and a 1.24 trillion won project to build a terminal at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.

Orders from Samsung Electronics and its overseas subsidiaries also accounted for a sizable chunk of the total, including Samsung Austin Semiconductor’s 226.6 billion won project to retrofit the facility and a 37 billion won project to build the tech giant’s new smartphone manufacturing plant in Turkey.

Samsung Engineering slid one spot to second place, with six contracts worth a total of 4.23 trillion won, about half the amount in 2020.

Samsung Engineering benefited from its relationship with Saudi Arabian oil companies. It secured an EPC contract worth 1.46 trillion won from the state-run oil giant Aramco for the Jafurah Gas Treatment Package 1 project and a 770 billion won contract to build a propane dehydration plant for Advanced Global Investment Company, a subsidiary of Saudi-based Advanced Petrochemical.

The company also signed a memorandum of understanding with Aramco in September to participate in its growth program Namaat as an EPC partner.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Hyundai Engineering ranked third and fourth place respectively this year.

Hyundai E&C’s overseas order value more than halved compared to a year earlier, whereas Hyundai Engineering secured overseas orders worth about 3.4 billion won, up 22% year-on-year.

The two affiliates of Hyundai Motor Group jointly won a 2 trillion contract for the Jafurah Gas Treatment Package 2 project. They ranked the highest in 2014 and 2015 but lost the top spot to Samsung’s affiliates in recent years.

The overall value of overseas construction contracts awarded to South Korean companies declined to $27.3 billion this year from $35.1 billion in 2020, as the demand for oil and gas plants slumped due to the pandemic-induced global economic slowdown. The number of overseas orders also reduced by 65 to 472.

“Large contracts reduced significantly, with growing concerns about rising costs,” an industry insider said. “Many companies are reducing their overseas construction business and getting more selective about overseas projects.” (Reporting by Jun-hyeok Shin)