The growth rate of LS Group in the North American market is accelerating. This is because the expansion of submarine cable orders is expected in the United States, while the price of copper, which affects sales prices, is also rising. The demand for power infrastructure, such as high-voltage transformers, is also expected to steadily increase.

According to the industry on the 13th, LS Cable's U.S. submarine business subsidiary LS Greenlink recently received a letter of allocation (LOA) for a new project valued at about 1 trillion won from the Netherlands' state power company TenneT. Once the main contract is signed, the delivery of submarine cables will begin in 2028.

Koo Ja-eun, Chairman of LS Group, is visiting the LOTTE INNOVATE exhibition hall set up at the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center in the United States, where the world's largest electronics and IT exhibition, CES 2025, is being held on Mar. 9 (local time). /Courtesy of News1

Earlier, Gu Ja-eun, chairman of LS, expressed confidence in the U.S. business at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2025 held in Las Vegas on the 9th (local time). Chairman Gu said, "Overall, the U.S. market is an opportunity for the group," adding, "The wire and power equipment business will remain robust even under the second term of the Donald Trump administration."

LS Cable is currently pushing to establish a submarine cable factory in the U.S. worth 1 trillion won through LS Greenlink. LS Cable launched operations to enter the local market after receiving investment tax credits from the U.S. government under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and plans to begin construction in Virginia in April this year, aiming for completion in 2027.

Jang Jae-hyuk, a research analyst at MERITZ Securities, noted, "If LS Greenlink secures the main contract for Balwin 5 from TenneT, production will likely be handled by the U.S. factory." He added, "There were many concerns that the wind power business in the U.S. would shrink after former President Donald Trump was elected in last November's presidential election, but this order will alleviate such worries."

The rising price of copper, a core raw material, is also a positive factor for the wire business. Because wire companies have an escalation clause that reflects the rise in raw material prices in their sales prices, an increase in copper prices boosts the value of backlogged orders and increases revenues.

As the inauguration of President Trump approaches, copper prices have been rising rapidly on the New York Mercantile Exchange (COMEX). Prices have risen higher than those on the London Metal Exchange (LME), creating a high premium. As President Trump announced plans to impose a universal tariff on all imports, investors have increased their purchases to stock up ahead of expectations that copper prices could become relatively expensive in the U.S.

On the 9th (local time), the recent front-month copper futures price in the New York market traded at $623 per ton higher than on the London Metal Exchange. This level is close to the premium experienced during the historic copper turmoil in the global market last year.

LS Electric is benefiting from the increasing demand for power infrastructure in the U.S. Last year, LS Electric's order amount in the North American market was 723.7 billion won, an increase of about 32% from the previous year, and up 61% compared to 2022. LS Electric plans to expand production capacity at its establishment in Busan by September this year, anticipating yearly increases in demand for high-voltage transformers in the North American market.

To respond to the growing local demand, LS Electric is establishing its first production base in Texas. In 2022, it also expanded its production capacity by acquiring MCM Engineering in Utah. Essex Solutions, a wire subsidiary in the U.S. that is pursuing listing, recently succeeded in pre-IPO fundraising.