Power Grid Construction Overseas Boosts Guangdong Wire & Cable Exports

SHANGHAI, Jul. 18 (SMM) – Wire and cable producers in China’s Guangdong reported rising export orders this year due to accelerating power grid construction overseas, a recent SMM survey shows.

About 3,000 wire and cable companies are situated in Guangdong’s Dongguan City or its surrounding areas, half of which are Hong Kong or Taiwan-invested companies.

Enterprises contacted by SMM said their export orders held steady or improved this year as Europe and Middle East have stepped up construction of UHV power grid.

European power grid operators will reportedly need to invest 150 billion euros in high-voltage transmission lines by 2030.

Power projects initiated this year in Turkey, Nepal, India, Romania, and Brazil will also generate chunky orders.

Wire and cable sales in China’s local markets, in contrast, slipped compared with a year ago, with some enterprises surveyed reporting 30-40% decline in orders. These enterprises, primarily SMEs supplying wire and cable used in plugs, power cords, and network cable, told SMM that the instability in China’s housing market this year has dampened production of white goods, and expected their orders to remain poor in the third quarter.

As for release of national standards for aluminum alloy wire and cable, a majority of enterprises in Guangdong were holding a wait-and-see attitude.

Most of local wire and cable enterprises only produce copper wire and cable and are unwilling to build aluminum alloy wire and cable production line before any national standards are announced.