LS

LS C&S loading submarine cables onto a vessel.

■ Part of LS Group Chairman Ja-Eun Koo’s plan to grow the company’s renewable energy business
■ Participated in the third-party-allotment recapitalization of KTS and will acquire 16% of the total outstanding shares
■ Synergy expected between the ‘submarine cable manufacturing technology’ of LS C&S and the ‘construction capabilities’ of KTS

LS Group is planning to expand its partnerships for renewable energy business through an equity investment in KT Submarine (hereinafter referred to as “KTS”), which is part of the KT Group.

On October 11, LS Group announced that LS C&S had participated in the third-party-allotment recapitalization of KTS and will acquire 16% of the total outstanding shares, or 4.04 million shares, for KRW 25.2 billion. Once the acquisition agreement is concluded, LS C&S will be KTS’s second largest shareholder behind KT.

An LS Group official stated, “LS C&S, a major subsidiary under the LS Group, will combine its submarine cable manufacturing technology with the construction engineering technology and vessel operating capability of KTS, and this will improve the company’s capability to receive orders for global projects.”

LS Group projects that the submarine cable market will continue to grow due to the growth in the offshore wind power generation market and increase in global internet use resulting from carbon neutrality policies that are being implemented worldwide.

Since Chairman Ja-Eun Koo assumed office, LS Group has focused on developing prospective future businesses by discovering hidden opportunities such as submarine cables and solar power generation in the renewable energy sector, and parts and materials for batteries/electric vehicles/semiconductors in other sectors.

KTS is a specialized submarine construction company founded in 1995 with the ability to take part in submarine optical fiber cable projects.

LS C&S manufacturing submarine cables.

[Additional Deion] LS C&S Submarine Cable Business 

LS C&S has been receiving more orders for large submarine cables as the market for offshore wind power generation continues to grow both domestically and overseas, and the company is now focusing on building its capabilities as a global cable manufacturer by increasing its investments in facilities, etc.

As the enforcement of carbon neutrality policies continues to expand globally, LS C&S has continued to receive orders for large-scale submarine cable projects in North America, Asia, Europe, and elsewhere in the world, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

LS C&S' expansion throughout the global market continues to accelerate. The company won supplier rights for submarine cables in Taiwan worth a total of KRW 800 billion over the past three years, and early this year, it concluded a submarine cable supplier agreement for an offshore wind farm in North America worth KRW 350 billion.

In addition, with the conclusion of a long-term supplier agreement with Denmark-based Orsted, the top offshore wind power generation company in the world, LS C&S is enhancing its cooperative partnerships with global renewable energy enterprises.

The company is continuing to make large-scale investments to secure competencies. LS C&S will invest an additional KRW 260 billion in its business establishment located in Donghae, Gangwon-do, by 2025, and it is currently expanding its production facilities by building a high-rise cable production tower (VCV tower) standing 172 m tall, which will be the highest in the country.

The company’s submarine cable manufacturing capacity will increase by more than 1.5 times once the new factory is completed in April next year.