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[October 2001]
Bright Future for Chinese Building Materials Market
The Chinese government's CEI has reported expert opinion that says that development speed of the Chinese building material industry is predicted to be 3% to 4% faster than that of the GDP growth in the coming 10 years - or even longer. By 2010, the output of the building material industry is predicted to reach 1.2126 trillion yuan, up 566.6 billion yuan from 2000.
10 billion square metres of housing completed every year has provided a large market for building materials in China and the great market potential has grabbed the attention of foreign rivals. Early in June 1999, the UK-based B&Q (said to be the largest decoration and construction material retailer in Europe) established its first chain store in Shanghai and its second last year. It plans to open 10 chain stores in Kunming and Dalian this year.
The Germany-based OBI, the world's leading building material retailer, opened stores in Wuxi and Shanghai in June last year. Experts says that these foreign rivals have more advantages over domestic companies in the area of management, capital, fund and services.
ENDS