(MENAFN- QNA) Orders won by South Korean builders in Saudi Arabia halved in the first eight months of the year from a year ago, mainly due to a drop in oil prices and instability in the Middle East, a report showed Tuesday.
According to the Korea Automotive Research Institute (KARI), which assessed data compiled by the International Contractors Association of Korea, overall orders secured in the country during the January-August period stood at 12 projects worth US$2.67 billion, a 51.2% drop from $5.47 billion tallied a year earlier.
The weak numbers represent a sharp drop from the value of orders won by local builders in the oil rich kingdom from 2010 onwards.
This made Saudi Arabia the single largest client for South Korean builders in recent years, with peak numbers being reached in 2011, when total orders reached $16.6 billion.
Related to this year's sluggish demand for new building projects, KARI said a drop in the price of international crude oil, which accounts for 92% of Riyadh's revenues, has caused the Saudis to spend less on construction overall. The drop has been brought on in part by the large scale development of shale gas in North America.
It said the country cut construction-related investment by 13% on-year to $66.1 billion in 2014.
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