New China ASEAN Construction Club Born

• 30 August 2016
• International News
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To strengthen partnerships between the building industries in China and ASEAN, the China-ASEAN Construction Industry Cooperation Committee was established in May.

The committee is the fourth building industry group spanning the two regions to promote business relations between Chinese construction-related firms and their ASEAN counterparts. It follows the China-ASEAN Building Materials Cooperation Committee (est. 2015) and the China-ASEAN Business Council and China-ASEAN Business Association (est. 2014).

The China-ASEAN Construction Industry Cooperation Committee is a non-governmental and non-profit business organisation for the China-ASEAN construction industry. It was established and is led by the China-ASEAN Business Council and the China-ASEAN Business Association which are jointly responsible for monitoring the committee.

The club has two co-chairs – one Chinese and one ASEAN side – and uses English as the operating language. The committee’s Chinese secretariat is based within the Nantong Construction Industry Association and works under the chairman on the Chinese side.

While Brunei Darussalam has been appointed as the co-chair for ASEAN side this year, Cambodia will be appointed as the co-chair for 2017.

“I hope that China can assist Cambodia, a less-developed member of ASEAN, to develop Cambodia’s economy; and encourage Chinese firms, contractors and building materials manufacturers and suppliers to further explore Cambodia’s construction industry by investing more in construction projects in Cambodia,” said Oknha Hann Khieng, Vice President of the Cambodia Constructors Association (CCA) who signed the membership enrollment on behalf of Cambodia.

Based on the club’s MOU, the committee will set up 50 member companies for the first batch with 20 Chinese companies and another 30 companies from ASEAN member states (3 firms for each country). So far, only Cambodia, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Vietnam are the members of this club, while the remaining ASEAN member states are still considering.

At the China-ASEAN Construction Industry Cooperation Summit and Inauguration Ceremony, the parties also agreed on the “Nantong Consensus” to strengthen China-ASEAN Construction Win-win Cooperation. They also an MoU to strengthen bilateral relations in the construction market.

After joining the club, Cambodia expects to receive billions of dollars in loans to finance various projects. CCA Vice Chairman Oknha Hann Khieng said Cambodia is expected to receive up to USD1 billion of loans this year alone from the funds the committee plans to use to support its ASEAN member states.

“The loans are for any construction-related projects including green and renewable energy projects proposed by the Cambodian government or local companies which are members of the China-ASEAN Construction Committee,” he told Construction and Property Magazine.

According to a report from the Ministry of Land Management Urban Planning and Construction, 86 Chinese construction-related companies currently operate in Cambodia. There are 58 construction firms from ASEAN including 28 companies from Vietnam, 13 from Thailand, 12 from Malaysia, and 5 from Singapore. There are 516 Cambodia-based firms.

In terms of foreign construction investment in Cambodia, Korea ranks top and China ranks second, though China would be first if financial aid from the Chinese government, was included.

Cambodia has also joined the China-ASEAN Building Materials Cooperation Committee last year and was appointed as the co-chair for the ASEAN side.

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