LS Cable & System CEO Koo Bon-kyu speaks during a press conference at the FKI Tower in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of LS C&S
LS Cable & System (C&S) has unveiled its goal of becoming the largest submarine cable supplier in the U.S. market through the construction of its factory in Virginia, which will begin next year and be completed by 2027.
Additionally, the cable maker dismissed concerns about former U.S. President Donald Trump's possible reelection having negative impacts on the company's business there.
“It will be impossible for the next U.S. president to retrieve subsidies that have already been awarded in accordance with the Inflation Reduction Act,” LS C&S CEO Koo Bon-kyu said during his first official appearance before the press, Thursday.
“The Republican governor of Virginia is also supporting us, considering the potential inflow of workforce and cash to the state after the construction of our factory.”
Given that the factory will start its full-scale operation when the next U.S. president is facing the end of his or her term, the son of LS C&S Chairman Koo Cha-yub said that his company is not concerned about any political risks.
“We seek to make the U.S. market the second domestic market,” he said.
Koo talked about his constant efforts to build personal networks with the U.S.' federal and state policymakers, as a group of American senators visited Korea earlier this week.
“When I met with U.S. lawmakers several months ago, I explained to them why we can be helpful to their country,” he said.
In response to a question about Taihan Cable & Solution's alleged theft of submarine cable technology from LS C&S, Koo said that his company will take measures against its local competitor if the allegation turns out to be true.
“Our employees gave their blood, sweat and tears to build a submarine cable plant, as no company taught their technology to us,” he said.
Regarding the plan for the initial public offering of LS C&S, the CEO said that his company will consider going public a few years later, once it shows its profitability to investors.
During the press conference, LS C&S announced that it will increase its annual revenue to 10 trillion won ($7.5 billion) in 2030 from the current 6 trillion won, with the aim of achieving 1 trillion won in cumulative sales in the U.S. market by then.
For this goal, the company plans to work together with its subsidiaries to build factories in Vietnam and the United Kingdom.
The cable maker emphasized that it will capitalize on the soaring demand for high-voltage direct-current cables, caused by the expansion of long-distance power grids and offshore wind farm construction projects worldwide.
The growing need for components for artificial intelligence data centers is also considered favorable to LS C&S, according to the company.