China's overseas expansion will spread over land that is home to more than half the world's population, which has the potential to increase copper use by at least 1.6M metric tons, or ~7% of annual demand, BHP Billiton (BHP+1%) tells Reuters.
BHP's latest analysis estimates overseas construction projects tied to China's Belt and Road Initiative represents one third of the global economy and will drive spending of as much as $1.3T through 2023.
"Increasing the international competitiveness of manufacturing in these regions may create a major lift in future demand from copper intensive sectors, such as automobiles, consumer durables and machinery," BHP says.
China is expected to be a major beneficiary of increased demand because of its massive copper smelting capacity, but BHP believes it also is well placed because it can develop its own capacity and work with junior players.