Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee traveled to the Middle East to oversee the group's push into new local businesses, including artificial intelligence data centers and energy infrastructure, in a region still unsettled by war.
Samsung Electronics said on the 22nd that Lee visited the construction site of the Al Dhafra gas-fired power plant in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, on the 21st.
It was Lee's first trip to the Middle East since he accompanied President Lee Jae-myung on a visit to the UAE last November. Lee toured major facilities at the plant, reviewed the construction schedule and safety management, and met with employees. He then held a meeting at the site with executives from Samsung C&T (028260.KS) and Samsung E&A (028050.KS) to discuss business strategy in response to shifting conditions in the Middle East market and ways to enter new businesses.
Samsung said it is expanding cooperation in its existing nuclear power and combined-cycle gas power businesses in line with the UAE's industrial development, while seeking opportunities to take part in future businesses such as AI data centers and energy infrastructure.
With the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar moving aggressively to build data centers and power plants as AI adoption spreads, Samsung Electronics, Samsung C&T and Samsung SDS plan to participate in the design, construction and operation of AI data centers, as well as in the supply of advanced semiconductors and cooling equipment and the construction of power plants.