S. Korean builders' domestic orders fall 14 pct in May

SEOUL, July 11 (Yonhap) -- Domestic orders won by South Korean construction companies sank in May, despite the government's measures to boost the sluggish construction sector, a report said Monday.
According to the report by the Construction Association of Korea (CAK), South Korea's construction companies clinched a combined 8.46 trillion won (US$7.99 billion) in new orders in May, down 14.1 percent from the same month last year.
Orders from the public sector rose 1 percent to 2.62 trillion won in May this year, while those from the private sector plunged 19.5 percent to 5.84 trillion won.
Private orders for engineering projects nosedived 44.6 percent on-year and those for housing construction tumbled 32 percent to 2.2 trillion won due to sluggish domestic demand.
Public sector orders for engineering works fell 3.9 percent on-year, but construction orders rose 8.1 percent from a year ago. It is first time that public sector orders for construction have increased on-year since August last year, according to the report.
The association offered a mixed outlook about sector-by-sector orders for the remainder of the year.
"Public sector orders are expected to increase in the second half thanks to new construction projects from local governments, but the private sector will hardly see any improvements in the short term," the CAK said.
brk@yna.co.kr