The list of 11 biggest construction companies in the world illustrates how well has the world recovered from the financial crisis in 2008. Once the bubble burst, many construction companies couldn’t cope with the loss of revenue and simply folded or in rare cases, were bought by more successful conglomerates. Today, the construction market is well recovered and in 2014 it was worth $5.7 trillion, since 2008 low point of 3.9 trillion and all that in the midst of ever present cries for austerity, which combined with high debt most countries find themselves in, have placed a serious curb on public spending, including construction. The financial situation in the world is recovering and that seems to have a major impact on the increase of construction markets. These are the companies that are reaping the largest share of profits from it. They are also heavily involved with 11 biggest oil companies in the world
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Interestingly, despite the United States being the second largest construction market, with about 10% of value, there’s not a single US company on 11 biggest construction companies in the world list. There are several reasons for this, but the most important one is the fragmentation of the market and its size. About one-third of all construction in the United States is private residential and the market leaders D.R Horton, Puite Group, Fluor and Lennar lack profits to be among top 11. In fact, only Lennar and Fluor would be among top 20 construction companies worldwide. Still, construction remains very important market in the United States, employing some 7.3 million workers.
Despite some early signs of slowing down, China remains the biggest construction market in the world. 6 out of 11 companies on our list are from China, a telling size of the market share. However, these companies aren’t relying on the domestic market alone. In that past several years, they have made a significant investment in Africa and other parts of Asia, especially in the Gulf. With a demand for steel in China predicted to rise just 0.8% in 2015, this seems like a prudent move in case domestic construction starts faltering, like many experts predict it will. Other South East Asian countries are experiencing construction spending growth, with India rising 7 % and Vietnam 6.8%. Japan and India are, after China, the largest conduction markets here, valued at $742 billion and $427 billion respectively.
The combined wealth of these 11 biggest construction companies is immense. Together, they have made $610.8 billion in sales, and have a total asset value of $780.5 billion and profits of $18.46 billion. They total market value is $282.6 billion. The numbers speak for themselves.
11. Larsen & Toubro
Country: India
Sales: $14.2 B
Profits: $810 M
Assets: $28.7 B
Market value: $26.3 B
Larsen & Toubro, headed by A.M Naik, are in charge of most of India’s infrastructure projects.
10. Daiwa House Industry
Country: Japan
Sales: $26.3 B
Profits: $1.2 B
Assets: $24.5 B
Market value: $13.4 B
Founded in 1947, Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd is the leading Japan’s residential construction.
9. Sinohydro Group
Country: China
Sales: $24.7 B
Profits: $757 M
Assets: $45.5 B
Market value: $15.4 B
Most of Sinohydro Group profits come from hydro and thermal power plants construction.
8. Metallurgical Corp of China
Country: China
Sales: $34.1 B
Profits: $645 M
Assets: $52.6 B
Market value: $15.8 B
Metallurgical Corp of China has a large market share of all metallurgical construction in China and is currently involved in several large projects in Africa.
7. Grupo ACS
Country: Spain
Sales: $46.3 B
Profits: $951 M
Assets: $47.6 B
Market value: $11.4 B
Founded in 1997, Grupo ACS has made its name during the Spanish construction boom in early 2000s, but most of its profits now days come from foreign investments.
6. Bouygues
Country: France
Sales: $44 B
Profits: $1.1 B
Assets: $42.2 B
Market value: $13.7 B
The first French company on our list of 11 biggest construction companies in the world, Bouygues’ portfolio includes Stade Vélodrome Football Stadium in Marseille and Miami port tunnel.
5. China Railway Construction
Country: China
Sales: $94.1 B
Profits: $1.8 B
Assets: $99.5 B
Market value: $33.7 B
Despite being founded in 2007, China Railway Construction is the main muscle behind the rapid extension of Chinese railway system
4. VINCI
Country: France
Sales: $51.8 B
Profits: $3.3 B
Assets: $77.6 B
Market value: $35.2 B
The only non-Chinese company in top 5, VINCI is the largest European construction company. It is heavily involved in Qatar.
3. China Railway Group
Country: China
Sales: $96.8 B
Profits: $1.7 B
Assets: $110.1 B
Market value: $39.7 B
China Railway Group is another major player in the construction of expanded Chinese railways, but that only constitutes a part of their portfolio. They have recently started expanding in EU.
2. China Communications Construction
Country: China
Sales: $58.5 B
Profits: $2.3 B
Assets: $101.6 B
Market value: $41.2 B
China Communications Construction is the largest port construction company in China. They have been expanding in Australia by acquiring John Holland Group, one of Australia’s largest construction companies.
1. China State Construction Engineering
Country: China
Sales: $120.3 B
Profits: $3.9 B
Assets: $150.6 B
Market value: $36.8 B
The number one on our list of 11 biggest construction companies in the world is China State Construction Engineering. They are involved in project such as Federazija Complex, Tower A, Europe’s highest skyscraper.
