New Year Greetings

Zhang Xiangyang

　　With the renewal of the year, our mountains and rivers are radiant, and the earth is reborn, bringing new life to all things. In the blink of an eye, we have bid farewell to the bountiful year of 2017 with boundless enthusiasm, and now we stand poised to welcome 2018—a year brimming with even greater hope and challenges. On the occasion of this momentous transition between years, 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 every sector of society who have consistently shown concern for and support of Nantong Construction Engineering.

　　The past year has been one in which our company has united as one, risen to challenges, overcome obstacles, and pressed forward with determination. Faced with a severe and complex economic environment and increasingly fierce competition in the construction market, the 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 steadfastly taken scientific development as its central theme and accelerated transformation and upgrading as its main focus. Through the concerted efforts of all employees, we have surmounted numerous difficulties and challenges, thereby achieving sustained, stable, and healthy corporate development. Despite the many hurdles, our business operations have made steady progress: the total value of newly signed contracts for the year reached yet another record high, while construction output value and operating revenue both remained above RMB 10 billion; overseas expansion has achieved new milestones; corporate management has reached a new level, with quality, environmental, and occupational health management systems operating smoothly and successfully undergoing certification renewal; information technology development has scored new breakthroughs; and brand-building initiatives have yielded significant results. The company has been honored with such prestigious titles as “ENR Top 250 Global International Contractors,” “Top 500 Private Enterprises in China,” “Top 80 Chinese Contractors,” “Top 200 Most Competitive Enterprises in China’s Construction Industry,” “National Outstanding Construction Enterprise,” “AAA Credit Rating,” “Model Integrity Enterprise in China’s Engineering Construction,” and “Top 100 Most Competitive Construction Enterprises in Jiangsu Province.” The successful completion of the key economic and technical indicators and work tasks for 2017 also signals that the Group’s 13th Five-Year Plan is off to a strong start.

　　The year 2018 marks the inaugural year for implementing the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and serves as a pivotal year that bridges the past and future in the execution of the Group’s 13th Five-Year Plan. As the saying goes, “Great vessels produce resonant sounds, and lofty aspirations lead to far-reaching visions.” In the face of a landscape characterized by both challenges and opportunities, and amid intense competition among numerous players vying for supremacy, we must comprehensively study and implement the spirit of the 19th National Congress and the Central Economic Work Conference, take Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as our guiding principle, adhere to the general principle of pursuing progress while maintaining stability, uphold the new development philosophy, place greater emphasis on “high-quality development,” adopt a more proactive and initiative-taking stance to drive transformation and pursue development, vigorously enhance the enterprise’s core competitiveness, accelerate the building of an innovative, internationally oriented, and value-driven enterprise, and strive to establish Nantong Construction Engineering Group as a nationally first-class and internationally renowned construction contractor.

　　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 a “large-scale construction industry,” actively advance the industrialization of construction, and explore new drivers of growth such as PPP projects. We will implement a “Science and Technology Innovation” strategy, making “science and technology innovation serving transformation and upgrading” the overarching theme of our science-and-technology development during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, thereby enhancing the enterprise’s core competitiveness in market competition. We will also implement a management-strengthening strategy, using standardized management, refined management, information-based management, and risk management as key levers to reinforce internal corporate governance. Finally, we will roll out 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.

　　With favorable winds at our backs, we should boldly ride the waves; though the road ahead is long and arduous, we must spur our horses on with whip in hand. Although the company’s 13th Five-Year Plan is off to a strong start, many unknown challenges still lie ahead, awaiting the collective efforts of Nantong Construction workers to explore and overcome them. Looking ahead to 2018, we will face both opportunities and challenges: a brighter future beckons, and even more demanding tasks await. Let us continue to uphold the corporate spirit of “hard work and pioneering,” adhere to the corporate philosophy of “integrity, standardization, innovation, and efficiency,” stay true to our original aspirations, unite as one, forge ahead with determination, keep pace with the times, ignite our dreams with passion, and build lasting achievements through relentless effort—so that we may leave an even more solid mark as we scale new heights in the development of Nantong Construction!

　　The golden rooster brings auspicious blessings to the imperial court, and the jade dog heralds good fortune and great ambitions. 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!

　　December 31, 2017