China's construction sector will remain lackluster with
slowing revenue growth this year due to ongoing economic hardships, global
rating agency Moody's predicted.
"The industry will see low-single-digit revenue
increase, similar to the 2 percent recorded in 2015 and down from 8.7 percent
in 2014," said Lu Chenyi, a Moody's vice president and senior analyst,
citing construction companies' large order backlogs and long lead times for
project completion.
The construction of both residential and commercial
buildings will likely be sluggish during the coming 12 to 18 months due to the
economic slowdown, moderating property-sales growth and high level of developed
but unsold properties in lower-tier cities, Lu said.
Despite a surge in property sales in the first quarter,
the high inventory has caused property developers to slow the pace of new
projects, which means fewer contracts for companies that construct these
properties.
However, large companies -- especially central
state-owned enterprises -- will report strong revenue growth from overseas
owing to their technical expertise, strong brand equity, large scale and
reputations, Moody's said.
The rating agency believes the government will continue
to invest heavily in railway, highway and road expansion this year to stimulate
economic growth and improve inter- and intra-regional connections.
Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/