New Year Greeting

Zhang Xiangyang

　　As the laws of nature usher in the warmth of spring and all things begin to renew, the radiant sunshine of 2017 has arrived, marking our farewell to the vigorous and fruitful year of 2016 and our welcome to a new year brimming with hope and challenges. On this joyous occasion of bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, on behalf of the Board of Directors, the Party Committee, and the General Manager’s Office of our Group, I would like to extend our most sincere greetings and best wishes to all employees, retired cadres, model workers, and pensioners. We also wish to express our heartfelt gratitude and warm New Year blessings to our customers and partners who have long supported and placed their trust in us, as well as to all friends from various sectors of society who have consistently shown concern for and support of Nantong Construction Engineering.

　　The past year has been one of unified effort, vigorous action, overcoming tough challenges, and relentless progress for our company. Faced with the severe and sustained downturn in the macroeconomic environment and increasingly fierce competition in the construction market, our company, under the care of the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government and the guidance and support of higher-level authorities, and guided by the Party Committee and the General Manager’s Office of the Group, has remained committed to scientific development as its central theme and to accelerating transformation and upgrading as its main task. Through the concerted efforts of all employees, we have surmounted numerous internal and external difficulties and challenges, thereby achieving sustained, stable, and healthy corporate development. Despite the many obstacles, our business operations have made steady progress: throughout the year, the value of newly signed contracts, construction output, and operating revenue each exceeded RMB 10 billion; new strides were made in overseas expansion; corporate management reached a new level, with quality, environmental, and occupational health management systems operating smoothly; significant breakthroughs were achieved in IT application; and brand-building initiatives yielded tangible results. As a result, our company has been honored with such prestigious titles as “Top 250 Global International Contractors” by ENR, “Top 500 Private Enterprises in China,” “Top 80 Chinese Contractors,” “Top 100 Most Competitive Enterprises in China’s Construction Industry,” “National Outstanding Construction Enterprise,” “AAA-rated Enterprise in Corporate Credit Rating,” “Model Integrity Enterprise in China’s Engineering Construction,” and “Top 100 Most Competitive Enterprises in Jiangsu Province’s Construction Industry.” The successful completion of key economic and technical indicators and work tasks for 2016 also marks a strong start to the Group’s 13th Five-Year Plan.

　　The year 2017 is a pivotal year in the implementation of the 13th Five-Year Plan and marks the deepening of supply-side structural reform. We must comprehensively implement the spirit of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Plenary Sessions of the 18th CPC Central Committee; take Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Important Thought of the Three Represents, and the Scientific Outlook on Development as our guiding principles; thoroughly study the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s series of important speeches; adhere to the general principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability; firmly establish and fully implement the new development philosophy; center our efforts on enhancing the quality and performance of development; proactively adapt to and grasp the new normal of economic development; emancipate our minds, dare to innovate, and deepen reform; and, with the goal of strengthening and optimizing our operations, focus on key tasks such as innovation-driven development, structural adjustment, opening-up and cooperation, deepened reform, quality improvement and efficiency enhancement, and brand building. In doing so, we will accelerate the development of an innovative, internationally oriented, and value-driven enterprise, continuously enhance the Group’s competitiveness, control, influence, and risk-resilience, open up new prospects for development, and strive to build Nantong Construction Engineering Group into a nationally first-class and internationally renowned construction contractor, thereby celebrating the successful convening of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China with outstanding achievements.

　　In the new year, we must summon even greater confidence, unwavering enthusiasm, and unyielding determination to rise to challenges and strive with all our might. We will vigorously implement the “Talent-Driven and Talent-Strengthened Enterprise” strategy to provide robust human-resource support for the Group’s transformation, upgrading, and scientific development. We will continue to aggressively pursue the “Going Global” strategy, proactively aligning with national initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative and international capacity cooperation, and deepening our presence in global markets. We will execute a transformation-and-upgrading strategy, embrace the concept of large-scale construction, actively advance the industrialization of the construction sector, and explore new drivers of growth such as PPP projects. We will implement a “Science and Technology Innovation” strategy, making “leveraging science and technology innovation to serve operations and production” the central theme of our 13th Five-Year Plan for technological development, thereby enhancing the enterprise’s core competitiveness in market competition. We will adopt a management-strengthening strategy, using standardized management, refined management, risk management, and information-based management as key levers to reinforce internal corporate governance. Finally, we will implement a cultural-brand strategy, conducting systematic top-level design to achieve an organic integration of corporate culture and brand-building, thus bolstering the enterprise’s soft power.

　　“The road ahead is long and arduous; I shall search high and low.” Although our company has made a promising start under the 13th Five-Year Plan, many unknown challenges still lie ahead, awaiting the concerted efforts of all Nantong Construction workers to explore and overcome them. In the year ahead, let us continue to uphold the corporate spirit of “hard work and pioneering initiative” and the corporate philosophy of “integrity, standardization, innovation, and efficiency.” United in purpose and with one heart and one mind, we will forge ahead with boldness and creativity, carry out our work with diligence and dedication, and, fueled by even greater determination and hard work, jointly create a brighter future for Nantong Construction!

　　The golden monkey lingers in the bountiful harvest year, while the colorful phoenix sings joyfully in the prosperous spring. As we usher in the New Year, we sincerely wish you all good health, smooth progress in your work, happiness for your entire family, and success in all endeavors!