Boston, MA -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/03/2014 -- We see no reason to deviate from our expectations of a continuing slowdown in South Korea's construction sector. This is primarily because of our downbeat outlook towards all of the country's construction sector drivers - namely, weak macro fundamentals for residential buildings, a poor export outlook for non-residential buildings and declining government spending on infrastructure.

Some notable factors that affected infrastructure development in recent quarters were:

- The slowdown in South Korea's construction industry that we have been calling for appears to be under way. According to latest data from the Bank of Korea (BoK), the South Korean construction industry expanded a seasonally-adjusted 2.4% year-on-year (y-o-y) in Q114, slowing from 3.9% in Q413. Overall building construction saw growth decelerate from 8.9% in Q413 to 6.2% in Q114 as the acceleration in residential building from 10.6% to 16.0% was insufficient to negate a 0.3% contraction in non-residential building construction. Civil engineering, meanwhile, maintained its contraction as the government continued to tighten public spending.

- Despite the muted outlook, we note that our construction growth forecast for 2014 is still significantly higher than the historical ten-year average (the sector contracted by an average of 0.26% per annum between 2004 and 2013 [based on 2010 prices]). This is because monetary conditions in South Korea remain relatively conducive for construction activity. The Bank of Korea has maintained the benchmark base rate at 2.50% since May 2013. This rate is a four-year low and in our opinion, is unlikely to change over 2014, with monetary tightening to only take place in 2015 at the earliest.

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The South Korea Infrastructure Report features Business Monitor International (BMI)'s market assessment and forecasts covering public procurement and spending on all major infrastructure and construction projects, including transportation and logistics by land, sea and air; power plants and utilities, and commercial construction and property development. The report analyses the impact of regulatory changes and the macroeconomic outlook and features competitive intelligence on contractors and suppliers.

BMI's South Korea Infrastructure Report provides industry professionals and strategists, sector analysts, investors, trade associations and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on the Korean infrastructure and construction industry.

Key Benefits:

- Benchmark BMI's independent infrastructure industry forecasts for South Korea to test other views - a key input for successful budgetary and planning in the Korean infrastructure market.

- Target business opportunities and risks in the Korean infrastructure sector through our reviews of latest industry trends, regulatory changes and major deals, projects and investments in South Korea.

- Assess the activities, strategy and market position of your competitors, partners and clients via our Company Profiles (inc. SWOTs, KPIs and latest activity).

Coverage:

BMI Industry View:

Summary of BMI's key industry forecasts, views and trend analysis covering infrastructure and construction, regulatory changes, major investments and projects and significant multinational and national company developments.

These are broken down into Construction (social, commercial and residential), Transport (roads, railways, ports, airports etc), and Energy & Utilities (powerplants, renewable projects, pipelines and so on).

Industry Trends:

Analysis of latest projects across the infrastructure sector (covering the transport, utilities and commercial construction sub-sectors) - including:

Market Overview:Analysis of the key elements driving developments, including evaluations of current capacity and future requirements.

Building Materials Overview:

The building materials overview provides industry trend analysis on the global and regional demands for building materials and the impact of this on the emerging and developed markets.

Business Environment Rankings:

BMI's Infrastructure Business Environment Rankings provide a country-comparative Risk-Reward Rankings index aimed at investors (construction companies, suppliers and partners) in the regional infrastructure market.

The rankings methodology makes sophisticated use of over 40 industry, economic and demographic data point.

Industry SWOT Analysis:

Analysis of the major Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats within the infrastructure and construction sectors and within the broader political, economic and business environment.

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