Despite the slump in the domestic construction market, overseas orders in the sector have risen this year and are expected to grow further over the next four years.

The Export-Import Bank held a seminar Tuesday with the Korea Development Bank, Korea Trade Insurance Corp., and the Korea Finance Corp., seeking to improve the financial support for firms engaged in overseas construction projects.

As of the end of November, overseas construction orders totaled $79 billion this year, up 5 percent from 2012, according to Kim Jong-hyun, director of the International Contractors Association of Korea.

“Also, the range of customers expanded from the Middle East region to Asia in general, and the business portfolio diversified as the number of civil engineering projects soared by more than 300 percent,” Kim said.

He nevertheless expressed concerns on the escalating competition in the global market, not only against foreign rivals but also among Korean companies, and underlined the importance of high value-added sectors such as investment-development business models.

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said that the current overseas order amount will continue to rise steadily over the next four years.

“The annual amount of orders is expected to rise by 3.9-4.7 percent up to year 2017, creating an employment effect of 150,000 and a production effect of $1.4 billion,” said Yoon Tae-yong, the ministry’s international economy director.

The ministry also pledged to review the performance of Korean builders in the overseas market on a regular basis, in an aim to respond quickly and flexibly to the market, according to officials.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)