LS Cable & System, First in Korea to Enter European Submarine Cable Market



LS Cable & System has announced the supply of 150kV level submarine cables, 150kV&275kV extra high-voltage underground cable and connection materials to a scale of 16 million Euros (approx. KRW 23 billion) to Dong Energy, a Danish state enterprise and the largest wind power generation company in Europe. LS Cable & System's submarine cables will be used in an offshore wind power generation complex to be built in Westermost Rough on the Southeastern Coast of the U.K. by Dong Energy and the extra high-voltage underground cables will be used to transmit electric energy generated in the wind power generation complex and sent to the land area to an inland transmission site.


With the order, LS Cable & System is making an official entry into Europe, the world's most advanced offshore wind power generation market. The scale of European offshore wind power generation market is forecast to more than double from $13.5 billion in 2012 (approx. KRW 14.8 trillion) to $30 billion in 2020 (KRW 32.8 trillion). Accordingly, the submarine cable market is expected to grow exponentially and, thus LS Cable & System is forecasting a sales increase in the European submarine cable market following its recent performance in the U.S. and the Middle East.


Europe is a home to the advanced cable makers including Prysmian and Nexans. Obtaining an order for submarine cables from Europe, according to the company insider, means that LS Cable & System's product competitiveness has reached a global standard. Having supplied extra high-voltage cables to France last year, LS Cable & System signed a contract for submarine cable supply this year. As such, LS Cable & System has solidified its position as a global cable maker.


"It holds great significance in that we can now enter the European submarine cable market following the U.S. and the Middle East," said LS Cable & System President Ja-Eun Koo. "We will focus all our strengths to new submarine cable markets in the future."


The global submarine cable market displayed a rapid growth from a scale of KRW 1.5 trillion in 2008 to KRW 3 trillion in 2011. LS Cable & System obtained an order for a KRW 500 billion project from Qatar, the largest export contract in the history of Korean cable industry, in 2012 and has collectively obtained an order for and completed a submarine cable project at the end of 2011 for successful power supply between Long Island and Captree Island in the Eastern part of New York in the U.S. Moreover, LS Cable & System continually won orders for major submarine cable projects, such as a project to install 20kV submarine power cables for 10km section from Tidore to Turnate in the northern archipelago of Indonesia and a project to install 33kV submarine cables for urban electrification project in Sarawak of Malaysia. In Korea, the company has successfully completed a 250kV submarine cable installation project for 105km section from Jeju-do and Jindo, a project to install submarine power network system between Hwawon and Anjwa, a project to build a pilot wind power generation complex in Woljeong-ri, Jeju-do and a project to install submarine cables in the tidal current power generation complex between Jangjuk and Sudo in Jeollanam-do.