An employee for China Jingye Engineering Corp Ltd works at a construction site for a Universal Studios theme park on Sentosa Island, Singapore. China Jingye, under the Metallurgical Corporation of China, has become a competitive foreign contractor in Singapore after 13 years' development. Si Tingting

Thirteen years ago, when Tan Zhiyong first brought a team of 50 Chinese construction workers to look for business opportunities in Singapore, he could not find a decent contracting project and remained a small subcontractor providing mainly labor services.

Life was hard for him. By the end of the first month in Singapore, he could only pay his workers five stamps and five envelopes each as their first monthly salary. For their first Spring Festival banquet in Singapore, Tan's team could only afford to buy three pig heads to make into different dishes.

He was then a 28-year-old engineer from China Jingye Engineering Corp Ltd (China Jingye), a subsidiary of construction conglomerate Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC).

Going to Singapore was part of the company's early attempts to explore overseas construction markets, and Tan led the pioneering team.

Thirteen years later, after many ups and downs, the blue MCC logo has become a familiar sight in Singapore. And China Jingye has become one of the better-known foreign contractors in Singapore.

Last July, the contracting company landed a plum 3.05 billion yuan job to build the highly anticipated Universal Studios theme park on Singapore's Sentosa Island.

China Jingye will be in charge of general work such as structural buildings, facades, walkways and an amphitheater at the Universal Studios park, which will feature 24 rides and attractions.

"Every day, I have to endorse checks worth 10 million yuan to buy all kinds of materials, or the project will not be finished in time," said Hou Zhaoxin, the chief engineer for China Jingye's Sentosa project and one of China's leading experts on steel frame structures.

From a small, unnamed subcontractor to the contractor for the biggest project for Chinese construction firms in Singapore, China Jingye has been able to successfully compete for high-value contracts due to experience gained back home.

Hou, as well as many other Chinese engineers on the Universal Studios project, was heavily involved in construction of China's three recently built landmark structures that now grace the Beijing skyline -- the futuristic Bird's Nest, egg-shaped National Opera House and new CCTV headquarters complex.

Recalling his years of experience in Singapore, Hou was most proud that he brought one of the first steel frame structures to the country.

"Before we came, Singapore did not have good steel frame building, and the Singaporeans now consider MCC a label for top steel frame structures," he said.

Hou said his Singapore counterparts lacked the strong research and development abilities of Chinese construction firms.

However, since the Sentosa project involves a lot of large steel frame construction, many proposals from China Jingye were received with heavy scrutiny from the Singapore side.

"But every time, we could prove to them that our proposals worked well," China Jingye engineer Miao Youwu said.

On time, on budget

In addition to the company's access to cheaper labor and resources in China, it has been able to make a mark abroad by showcasing its ability to deliver projects on time and within budget.

"With the building materials we developed back in China, we helped save millions of dollars for the Universal Studios project," Hou said.

Strong support from the parent company, MCC, also played a key role for then relatively unknown China Jingye to win the big project.

"Just a few days after we won this bid, our parent company (MCC) sent us millions of dollars to help kick off the initial operations," Tan said.

"Within one month, it sent us more than 300 engineers, technicians and project managers from China to provide professional assistance," he said.

Tan said the project employer, Malaysia-based Genting International, and the Singapore government also were impressed by China Jingye's commitment to finish the project in only 1.5 years versus a US competitor's bid of four years.

Tan said there were many Chinese construction firms interested in the Sentosa project, but they all retreated because of the project's deadline requirements. The Singapore government will charge high fines when contractors fail to meet deadlines.

"They all thought I was crazy to risk such a big project under such strict deadline rules, but so far I think I made the right decision," he said.

The Universal Studios project is "well on track for a soft opening in early 2010 and has helped to dispel the notion that most of the work by Chinese construction firms is second-rate", Tan said.

A good reputation

"The good reputation we gain from this project, especially our strict execution of the contract, will help establish us in the Southeast Asia market," he said.

Tan said the company is considering establishing a Southeast Asia headquarters and is currently involved in building projects in Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines.

"Singapore is an important market for us. The Singapore government recently unveiled a slew of civil construction projects, and I hope we can have a bigger share of them," Tan said.

According to Singapore's Building and Construction Authority, foreign firms make up 26.4 percent of major construction players in Singapore. China firms make up 4.17 percent, Japan 9.72 percent and South Korea 2.78 percent.

Different cultures

Coping with the local culture and customs is part of daily life for Chinese engineers and construction workers in Singapore.

When doing business in Singapore, Chinese workers also are told to beware of certain strict laws and penalties.

For example, a tree planted on Sentosa Island by Singapore's first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, is considered "untouchable" by Singapore law. Anyone who damages the tree faces two years in prison or a fine of up to 2 million Singapore dollars ($1.4 million).

"The tree is just within our construction site, so we make double, triple efforts not to 'offend' it during our construction," a construction worker at the Universal Studio project said.

Although workers and engineers come from various countries, most speak understandable English and are committed to the same goal -- finishing the Universal Studios project on time and with high-quality results, he said.

"We've got a very good company culture that keeps us getting along very well," said Sun Chao, the project manager.

Tan said doing business in Singapore is more transparent than doing business in China.

"It requires a lot of networking and social connections to win a contract in China. However in Singapore, everything is on the table and the government is very cooperative," Tan said.

(China Daily 09/28/2009 page12)