China to lead growth in construction spending in Asia

China and Indonesia will experience the strongest growth in construction spending over the near and medium term, a survey on the outlook for the construction industry in Asia shows.

The survey, conducted in January among 68 industry participants from nine countries, showed the respondents remained convinced Asia is one of the world's leading construction markets.

Construction spending in China reached almost US$1.8 trillion last year, making it the largest market in the world and more than US$1 trillion larger than the markets in the US and Japan.

China was followed in the region by Japan, India, Indonesia and South Korea. Indonesia overtook South Korea as the fourth-largest construction market in Asia last year.

Construction spending in Asia accounted for 44 per cent of total global construction spending last year, an increase of 4 per cent from 2012.

Respondents forecast construction spending to grow at 7.3 per cent per year in China over the next five years, followed by India (7 per cent), Vietnam (6.8 per cent) and Indonesia (5.2 per cent).