BEIJING - China National Machinery Industry Corp (Sinomach) will explore new markets in developed countries in Europe and the US, as well as in its traditional markets in Asia and Africa, a top company executive said on Wednesday.

"We encourage our subsidiaries, including scientific institutions and design, construction and industrial equipment manufacturing companies, to go overseas and explore and develop new services and markets," said Ren Hongbin, chairman of Sinomach, the country's largest machinery maker.

In particular, he said, Sinomach will support its equipment manufacturing units' exports by making better use of the market development fund.

The company will also provide information on foreign countries' policies to help its subsidiaries expand abroad, Ren said.

Four subsidiaries already have construction projects in the renewable energy sector, including solar and wind power projects, in Ukraine and Belarus.

"The equipment manufacturing companies should design and develop technology-intensive and high-end products with higher added value," Ren said. "We need to transform ourselves from a mere product supplier to a service and solution provider."

The company's 2011 revenue grew 17 percent to 191 billion yuan ($30 billion). This year's revenue goal is 200 billion yuan.

However, Ren said that the company would encounter many disadvantages this year, such as rising raw material prices, higher labor costs and exchange-rate fluctuations.

He said that the domestic machinery industry's growth rate will continue to decline for production, sales, profits and exports.

"The business environment for the industry is getting worse, with a dropping profit growth rate," he said.

The World Bank has forecast that China's GDP growth will slow to 8.4 percent this year from 8.7 percent previously.

In the project contractor sector, Ren said, growth rates will fall in the international market because of the ongoing financial crisis.

"There is an evident decline of investment in overseas contractor projects in many foreign countries," he said.

"As a good many companies are coming into the international project contractor market, the competition is getting fiercer. Some companies even have achieved a monopoly to some extent, which will definitely influence our businesses."

According to the China International Contractors Association, revenue growth from the nation's international projects will slow this year. The association cited a shortage of overseas workers and political instability in regions such as the Middle East and North Africa.

Revenue from China's international contracts from January to October 2011 reached $76.1 billion, up 15.3 percent, according to the association.

China Daily