Samsung C&T's trading arm pursues US data center development

Samsung C&T's trading division is moving into the US data center development market. The most likely model involves securing sites in advance, building out initial infrastructure and then selling the assets — a strategy aimed at capitalizing on the rapidly expanding US data center market driven by AI growth.

The trading division is expected to keep broadening its portfolio beyond its traditional trading-focused structure, pushing into new areas including data centers and hydrogen trading.

According to industry sources Monday, Samsung C&T's trading division has identified data centers as a key future growth engine and is actively discussing strategy for a US data center development project.

The approach mirrors the division's existing solar business. The plan calls for acquiring sites expected to host data centers, obtaining the necessary permits and then selling operational rights to global technology companies or asset management firms during the early infrastructure development phase. The local network Samsung C&T's trading division built through its US solar operations is expected to support the data center push.

Synergies with Samsung C&T's construction division are also anticipated. The construction arm has been seeking data center project contracts to offset an earnings decline caused by a slowdown in the domestic construction market. Once the trading division's data center development business reaches full stride, the expected structure would have the construction division handling EPC — engineering, procurement and construction — while the trading division focuses on site sourcing.

The trading division's push into US data center development is closely tied to AI growth. As the AI market expands rapidly, demand for data centers — the critical infrastructure underpinning it — is surging. Large-scale data centers are being built at a particularly concentrated rate in North America, home to the world's leading technology companies.

According to market research firm Mordor Intelligence, the North American data center market was valued at $153.87 billion (236 trillion won) last year and is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 10.5 percent, reaching $253.35 billion (388 trillion won) by 2030.

The data center push is also part of a broader effort to build new growth foundations. Samsung C&T's trading division has pursued a range of new businesses to move beyond its trading-heavy structure, with its solar business — launched in 2010 — the most prominent example. The challenge is that solar growth has slowed in recent years.

Last year, the trading division posted $79 million (120 billion won) in solar development and divestment profit — nearly four times the $21 million (32.1 billion won) recorded in 2021, but only 2.6 percent above the prior year's $77 million (117.6 billion won). While the long-term potential of solar remains significant given global green energy trends, Samsung C&T now faces the need to cultivate new revenue streams as a hedge against a prolonged slowdown.

The trading division plans to further strengthen its new-business portfolio beyond data center development. Hydrogen is a prime example: in March, the division signed a $3 billion (4.6 trillion won) green ammonia purchase agreement with Reliance Industries, India's largest conglomerate, marking its entry into hydrogen trading.

Efforts to grow the solar business will continue in parallel. While the division has historically focused on development and divestment, it plans to expand the solar infrastructure it operates directly going forward.

Samsung C&T also intends to pursue solar projects more aggressively outside the United States. In February, the trading division sold its solar and energy storage system project in Queensland, Australia, to the Australian subsidiary of UK-based Octopus Group — the first time Samsung C&T generated solar revenue from a market outside the US.

A Samsung C&T spokesperson said the company has "nothing decided" regarding entry into data center development or related businesses.

[단독] “TSMC 엔지니어들, 삼성 성과급 정말 부러워해…급여격차 최소 5배” [세계 반도체 제조 심장을 가다③]

https://biz.heraldcorp.com/article/10766173