[Edaily Reporter Kim Kyung-eun] On the 8th, IBK Investment & Securities raised its target price for #Samsung E&A to 60,000 won—a 71.4% increase from the previous level—citing expectations that the company will benefit from expanded semiconductor investments. The firm maintained its “Buy” rating.

Cho Jung-hyun, an analyst at IBK Investment & Securities, stated in a report released that day, “Clients are opening their wallets, and Samsung E&A is the first company to see this reflected in its numbers.”

He explained that rising memory prices are driving increased investment in semiconductor equipment, while Middle East risks are boosting demand for energy infrastructure restoration and the diversification of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply chains, thereby simultaneously increasing clients’ cash flow and investment needs.

Researcher Cho explained, “It is highly likely that Samsung E&A’s non-chemical division will exceed its original annual order target of 3 trillion won to reach over 5 trillion won,” adding, “The key factor is the scale of Samsung Electronics’ P5 investment.”

He continued, “P5 is being designed as a large-scale fab equivalent to the combined scale of P3 and P4, rather than just the level of the previous P4,” and assessed, “Coupled with this, the improving memory market conditions and increased demand for High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), high-performance DRAM, and eSSD driven by expanded investment in artificial intelligence (AI) servers are heightening the need for affiliated companies to expand their capacity.”

Regarding the chemical engineering sector, he noted, “It is difficult to interpret geopolitical risks in the Middle East as merely negative factors.” He predicted, “While the war in Iran and risks in the Strait of Hormuz could cause delays in some project orders in the short term, they could simultaneously stimulate demand for the restoration and reconstruction of existing energy facilities, as well as expanded investment in energy security.”

He further analyzed, “We believe that normalizing operations at key energy facilities is likely to be set as the top priority,” adding, “Furthermore, as LNG procurement criteria are shifting toward supply diversification and energy security, the likelihood of reevaluating non-Middle Eastern LNG projects is also increasing.”

He noted, “In the LNG EPC market, demand for new EPC contractors is rising as the expansion of independent developers, capacity constraints among existing EPC firms, and changes in licensors converge,” and added, “It is worth noting that the acquisition of Air Products’ LNG division by UOP—which has collaborated with Samsung E&A for a long time—is bringing about changes in the LNG liquefaction licensor landscape.” He further emphasized, “If Samsung E&A can address its lack of project references, we expect it to secure opportunities to win LNG contracts.”