A foreign-owned design firm has withdrawn its investment
Thread Content
On July 22, the shareholders of Foster Wheeler (Hebei) Engineering Design Co., Ltd. changed, with AMEC Foster Wheeler Asia-Pacific Private Limited withdrawing from the list of shareholders. Currently, Foster Wheeler (Hebei) Engineering Design Co., Ltd. (FWH) is 100% owned by China Electronics System Engineering Fourth Construction Co., Ltd. Foster Wheeler (Hebei) Engineering Design Co., Ltd., formerly known as the Hebei Provincial Petrochemical Design Institute, was established in 1953 and is a renowned domestic engineering design firm specializing in chemical, pharmaceutical, petrochemical, and electronics industries. The company holds Class A design qualifications for all industries including chemicals, petrochemicals, and pharmaceuticals, as well as Class A design qualifications in the construction industry (construction engineering) and the electronics, communications, and broadcasting industry (electronic engineering).
FWH is likely to change its name. Capital is driven by profit; once foreign companies encounter difficulties in China’s engineering market, they immediately lay off employees and close down. In the early 2000s, FW enjoyed success in China; its notable project was its role as one of the PMC providers for the CNOOC Shell Huizhou project (commonly known as the South China Sea Project), which involved an investment of 4 billion US dollars (the other two PMC providers were Bechtel and SEI).
Chinese petrochemical design institutes are in a state of overcapacity; coupled with the lack of projects at present, it is only logical for investments to be withdrawn.
That place in the compound is incredibly busy, with one project after another. It can be said that when foreign capital or foreign-funded projects first entered China, the CDI capabilities were not strong enough; these foreign engineering companies came into the Chinese engineering market along with them. With the reform and opening up, CDIs have now improved their capabilities and become stronger and more competitive, leaving those foreign-funded institutions under pressure without any market left for them. Of course, some small foreign engineering companies with proprietary technologies are still thriving.
Foreign engineering companies can only take on projects funded by foreign investors, usually working on EPC and EPCM contracts. Large projects of state-owned enterprises are only assigned to the design institutes of those enterprises; state-funded projects go to domestic design institutes as well. As for projects carried out by private enterprises, they are certainly not given to foreign firms, as the costs are too high for them to bear.
Are there anyone who works at this organization and would like to know some specific details?