Doosan (000150.KS), a company with a market capitalization exceeding 22 trillion won, saw its shares surge more than 16%. The rally is attributed to attention on Doosan's AI data center-related business after global big tech firm Meta's large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure investment plans were revealed in foreign media reports overnight. As some of the market's doubts about AI infrastructure demand were partly resolved, shares of semiconductor-related companies also surged.
According to the Korea Exchange, Doosan was trading at 1.397 million won as of 2:46 p.m. on the 10th, up 16.13% from the previous trading day. Doosan traded in the 1.2 million won range early in the session but later widened its gains, at one point changing hands at 1.445 million won.
The steep share price rise is attributed to expectations for the AI data center business. According to a Reuters report, Meta plans to build 7 gigawatts (GW) of computing infrastructure this year. Meta's internal documents reportedly contain plans to build an additional 5.5GW of infrastructure by year-end. It was also reported that the company plans to add another 7GW of computing infrastructure next year, expanding total capacity to 14GW.
When global big tech firms increase AI infrastructure investment, the earnings of companies in the related value chain are affected. Doosan produces advanced materials that make up printed circuit boards (PCBs), including copper clad laminate (CCL) for AI accelerators. In a recent report, iM Securities forecast that Doosan would record 735.3 billion won in revenue and 205.1 billion won in operating profit in the second quarter, driven by expanding AI data center demand. These figures represent increases of 31.6% and 44.4%, respectively, from the second quarter of last year.
As market doubts about AI infrastructure demand were partly resolved, shares of semiconductor materials, parts and equipment companies also showed broad strength. Semiconductor equipment maker Jusung Engineering was trading at 195,100 won, up 9.36% from the previous trading day. Wonik IPS, the seventh-largest company by market capitalization on the KOSDAQ, was surging 19.26%, while eighth-ranked Leeno Industrial was up 8.14%. PSK (24.64%), EO Technics (12.55%) and Eugene Technology (13.40%) also posted steep gains.
