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| Building on a solid foundation ( 21/10/2002 ) | |||||||||
The company began its Asian operations in Hong Kong more than 25 years ago. In addition to tendering for works in Hong Kong, Leighton has utilised its SAR office as a platform for expansion into the Chinese mainland, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The company has doubled in size over the past five years while work in hand over the period has tripled from HK$2 billion (US$257 million) to current levels of around HK$6.4 billion (US$823 million). Chief executive John Faulkner, who has been in Hong Kong for almost 15 years, says doing business in Hong Kong is a lot simpler than many other Asian countries. "Tendering is a lot more transparent," he said. "Most of our work has been done for government or government-related organisations. Although these companies are tough at least they pay - which is a big issue throughout Asia." Mr Faulkner added: "We saw what happened during the Asian financial crisis. If the client decides not to make the last few payments it can be devastating for a company. We don't have that in Hong Kong." Its latest offshore deal is in Taiwan where the company is part of a consortium which has just won a HK$800 million (US$102.5 million) contract to build part of the country's new high speed rail project. Leighton has completed more than 100 projects in Hong Kong including the Science Museum, the Museum of Coastal Defence, the award-winning Australian International School at Kowloon Tong, and various rail projects including Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation's light rail system, the new Tseung Kwan O Mass Transit Railway station and track laying for the West Rail project. It was involved in eight projects worth some HK$3.5 billion (US$450 million) connected with the building of the Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok, did the site preparation for both Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and Cyberport, and has built several estates for the Housing Authority. In his time in Hong Kong, Mr Faulkner says he has seen several booms and troughs. Mr Faulkner says Hong Kong's air connections make it easy to use as a base to cover the region. He says he also likes Hong Kong's strong work ethic. "The enjoyable thing is that you can actually get something done - people spend a lot of time working." Mr Faulkner, who is about to return to Leighton's head office in Sydney, says Hong Kong has been "a fantastic place to be" over the past five years. Related links: | |||||||||
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