Driver Trett Digest Issue 25 - Flipbook - Page 7
DIGEST | ISSUE 25
ASIA PACIFIC
A LAND OF OPPORTUNITY
Leslie Harland
Regional Director
Singapore, Driver Trett APAC
Despite the setbacks resulting from the global pandemic,
the phenomenal growth we are now seeing in APAC makes it
an extremely exciting market opportunity going forward. Our
foray into the region (Malaysia and Singapore) was more than
three decades ago, when the region’s share of GDP globally
was around 22 percent.
Today, the region's share of global GDP has grown to just over
30%, and by 2030 is forecast to reach 40%1, as governments
across the APAC region are looking to infrastructure to help
stimulate growth as the region begins to return to some form
of normality post-pandemic.
It is almost three years since the outbreak of Covid-19. At
the moment, it is still impossible to quantify the precise
long-term impact of the pandemic, save that insofar as
international construction projects are concerned, it is likely
to be material.
This is borne out by early analysis from the World Bank, which
estimates that 256 developing country projects have been
disrupted or cancelled due to the pandemic, and we have
seen (and will continue to see) project stakeholders battle
over the resulting cost implications3.
Covid-19 is, and will continue to be, a catalyst for construction
disputes, particularly as the true and longer-term impacts
manifest themselves. In short, the scene is ripe for
construction disputes4, for many years to come.
Construction holds the key to economic
recovery.
Encouraged by this government focus, investors are turning
to view Asia-Pacific as a land of opportunity. In the APAC
region, construction holds the key to economic recovery due
to its potential for job creation, with some market observers
suggesting that on a regional level, the construction industry
might reach US$313 billion by 2024.
The growing potential of the region has, for example,
resulted in significant investment by data centre operators,
a construction market that was valued at US$15 billion in
2022 and is expected to reach US$24 billion by 20282. This
predicted increase has been driven by the development of
multiple industrial zones, rapid growth in submarine cable
connectivity, and digitalisation. Operators in the region are
participating in the government's efforts for sustainable
energy adoption by using renewable energy, signing power
purchase agreements, or setting targets for carbon-free
operations.
However, rapid growth is not without challenges as
construction projects around the world rely heavily on
long supply chains: equipment, materials, and labour.
A disruption to any link in that chain can result in delay and
increased costs, and the way parties approach risk allocation
1 Asia 2050 Realizing the Asian Century
2 Bloomberg
Driver Trett has expanded its APAC footprint with offices in
Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Australia. Our offices
work as one team, bringing together elite capabilities across
various disciplines and industries, native language and
cultural knowledge, and on-the-ground support.
Our presence in Singapore, an ever-growing popular seat
for arbitration, is a place where our Asia-based clients
increasingly require our assistance with their disputes,
whether being appointed as delay, technical, or quantum
experts through our Diales expert services brand, or
providing commercial and contractual support on underperforming projects.
As we receive more enquiries from our Korean based
clients, we have recently opened an office in Seoul, which
is manged by Jung-Guk Lee. This is a long-term investment
opportunity which is crucial in maintaining and growing our
Korean business and key for boosting integration across
other offices in APAC.
This new office will also give our Korean clients more
immediate access to high-calibre construction specialists
within our organisation globally, which is part of our fiveyear strategic plan for APAC as we continue to invest in our
people, which we see as key to our success. Our aim is to be
the go-to global construction consultancy in the APAC region
as we move forward.
3 World Bank COVID-19’s Impact on Infrastructure
4 Global arbitration review
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