Korea Investment & Securities Holds Data Center Financing Briefing: "Confirms Demand for AI Infrastructure Finance"

[Financial News] Korea Investment & Securities is moving to provide financial solutions encompassing data center project financing (PF) and graphics processing unit (GPU) financing in response to expanding investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. Korea Investment & Securities, a subsidiary of Korea Investment Holdings, said on the 1st that it had held a 'Data Center PF and GPU Financing Financial Structure Briefing' at its headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 30th of last month for institutional investors, construction companies, asset managers, and AI infrastructure operators.
Following the first event held on the 18th of last month, this briefing was organized as an additional session in response to strong industry interest. Approximately 230 people registered for the first briefing and approximately 250 for the second, bringing the total to approximately 480.
Stakeholders from across the AI data center ecosystem participated, including data center developers, domestic cloud providers, large companies and corporate groups, banks and specialized credit finance companies, institutional investors, asset managers, and construction companies.
The event covered the latest trends in the data center industry and the shift toward AI Factory, as well as the structural characteristics of data center PF, examples of financial arrangements, overseas fundraising cases involving AI-focused cloud companies and their applicability in Korea, and funding structures using private equity funds (PEFs) for institutional investors.
In particular, discussions continued on assessing project viability and financial stability, including medium- and long-term supply and demand forecasts for AI data centers, the potential for regional decentralization, asset-value and depreciation risks arising from changes in GPU technology, and measures to safeguard rights to GPU assets.
GPU financing is a financial structure that raises funds based on future cash flows generated by contracts to use GPUs, which are high-performance computing resources. As the spread of generative AI and agentic AI drives up demand for high-performance GPUs and ultra-high-power, high-density AI data centers (AIDCs), domestic companies and investment institutions are also showing growing interest in related financial structures.
Korea Investment & Securities plans to continue follow-up consultations with the companies and investment institutions that attended the briefing, tailoring them to the characteristics of each project. It will review and advise on financial solutions for individual projects, ranging from the legal and accounting reviews required during data center development and GPU deployment to PEF structuring and funding options.
The company plans to provide financial advice and investment throughout the entire project lifecycle, from equity investments and bridge loans in the early stages to arranging the main PF and purchasing assets after completion.
Kim Seong-hwan, president of Korea Investment & Securities, said, "AI and data centers have recently emerged as major topics in global financial markets, and I am seeing firsthand the strong interest in data center investment and financing in discussions with overseas institutional investors." He added, "Korea Investment & Securities has the capabilities to provide the financial solutions required throughout the AI infrastructure development process, from financing the Core and Shell and Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) construction costs of data centers to GPU financing."

[email protected] Kang Jung-mo Reporter