Inland-based contractor noted international player

ZHENGZHOU - Henan International Cooperation Group Co Ltd has adopted an international corporate culture to encourage smooth operations and a strong bond among its thousands of employees both at home and abroad, according to its president.

The giant State-owned enterprise specializes in international projects and foreign trade even though it is headquartered in the hinterlands of China - in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province.

It has offices in more than 20 countries and regions across Asia, Africa and Europe with about 10,000 local employees.

"This special situation requires efficient management - or else things will just go out of our control," said the company's 46-year-old President Wang Jianxin.

Wang said people-oriented management and a "warm family" corporate culture have been crucial to success abroad.

"Many of our employees are working and living away from their families," Wang noted. "So as an organization we must attentively solve their problems back at home and make them feel our company is their big warm family, too."

Wang said he advocates family values like compassion and mutual care between colleagues rather than a company environment only interested in profits and production.

Since its founding in 1983, CHICO has completed more than 400 international projects including industrial and public buildings, roads and bridges, power plants and urban infrastructure in more than 30 countries.

It is accredited with a number of quality and safety certificates, both domestically and internationally, and has been listed as one of the "Top 225 International Contractors" globally for many years.

In just four years, its contract value in overseas engineering projects has doubled the entire total before 2006.

It is currently working on nearly 30 projects with a combined value of about $1.5 billion.

The company is the biggest road construction contractor in Tanzania and Liberia, and one of the most successful in Senegal, Zambia and Mozambique.

"In those countries, CHICO is a symbol of good quality and many business people just reached out to us for their projects," Wang said.

He added that a system of regionalized management adopted in 2011 solved many problems that before challenged the company.

Looking forward

The group is now venturing into new areas for further growth.

"We must walk with two legs - project contracting and mining," the company president said.

In 2010, CHICO obtained rights to develop a huge bauxite deposit - the ore for aluminum - in Guinea that covers 558 square kilometers and has projected reserves of more than 10 billion tons. It is the biggest bauxite project by any Chinese enterprise abroad.

"It was a breakthrough for CHICO in the field of overseas mining," Wang said.

In addition to bauxite, it is now developing mining, iron, copper and uranium in more than 20 countries and regions. Its international trade business also reaches more than 30 countries, while its automobile dealerships and information service rank high among their respective industries in China.

The corporation shifted its focus from Southeast Asia to Africa in 1997. It is now doing work in nine global regions.

Wang said he has set his eyes on Europe for another breakthrough after years of concentrating on Africa.

China Daily