Korean builder’s overseas construction orders have jumped eightfold since 2022
Ssangyong Engineering & Construction is accelerating its turnaround by leveraging business synergies with Global Sae-A Group, as the Korean builder expands its pipeline of high-end overseas projects.
Ssangyong E&C recently secured a $250 million contract to build Avenue Park Towers with the United Arab Emirates’ state-run developer Wasl Asset Management Group, along with a 100 billion won ($68.1 million) project in Equatorial Guinea, starting the year on a strong note.
Since joining Global Sae-A Group in December 2022, Ssangyong E&C’s overseas business has gained momentum. The company’s overseas orders stood at $121 million in 2022, but the figure jumped to $650 million in 2025 — more than five times higher than three years earlier.
Under Global Sae-A Group, Ssangyong E&C has focused on major overseas markets such as Singapore, Dubai and Equatorial Guinea to secure high-value-added projects. Its notable past works include Singapore’s landmark Marina Bay Sands hotel and Dubai’s Atlantis The Royal.
The company said it will seek synergies with Global Sae-A Group to explore new business opportunities in other regions, including Central America.
In Korea, Ssangyong E&C has maintained its reputation as a reliable builder, completing the construction of Dutch semiconductor equipment-maker ASML’s Hwaseong campus in Gyeonggi Province at the end of last year. It has also won major remodeling projects, including the Centre Pompidou at the 63 Building in Yeouido and the Banyan Tree Haeundae Busan. The company plans to supply about 6,000 housing units nationwide this year.
In civil engineering, Ssangyong E&C secured two projects along the Southern Inland Railway worth a combined 450 billion won. The builder also plans to expand into renewable energy, having set up a new energy business team this year.
Based on the projects it has secured since joining Global Sae-A Group, the firm’s order backlog increased by more than 50 percent to surpass 9 trillion won as of last year. Its financial structure and earnings have also improved, with the company expected to post 1.8 trillion won in sales and 60 billion won in operating profit in 2025, marking its third consecutive year of profit.
Its debt ratio is projected to fall sharply from 753 percent at the end of 2022 to the mid-150 percent range.
Ssangyong E&C said Global Sae-A Group’s capital injections — including a 150 billion won rights offering in 2023 and the issuance of 50 billion won in hybrid capital securities in 2024 — played a major role in the financial turnaround.
hwkan@heraldcorp.com
