South Korean builders' earnings from overseas projects were down last year, central bank data showed Monday, the first time in four years that the companies have seen the figure drop amid adverse industry conditions worldwide.
Last year's current account surplus in the country's construction sector stood at $17.1 billion, down 16.1 percent from the previous year, according to data compiled by the Bank of Korea. The tally marks the first fall in four years since the 17.7-percent drop in 2010.
The balance of overseas deals refers to the payments local builders have received for the progress made on their existing orders from abroad. Before the recent downturn, the number had been on an upward trend for the previous three years by a yearly average of nearly 20 percent, according to BOK data.
The amount secured by South Korean builders from offshore projects, on the other hand, edged up 1.2 percent on-year to $66 billion in 2014, but the number was short of the government's initial 2014 target of $70 billion.
Industry watchers say the weakening numbers for local builders are largely attributable to falling prices of oil, as many of their overseas deals are those with firms from oil-producing countries.
"It's hard to foresee how long the current state of cheap crude oil prices will last, but it is true that the low prices are a concern for builders and their hunt for deals abroad," an industry official said. (Yonhap)
