For years, the conversation about smart appliances centered on the home. That intelligence, connectivity and reliability is now expected across the built environment. Across Southeast Asia and Oceania, it’s moving into residential developments, hotels, offices and retail spaces.

With our broad portfolio of integrated B2B solutions, Samsung is supporting the growth of businesses and building owners in the region by addressing their evolving operational needs across heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), home appliances, as well as smart management technologies. Equipped with a deep understanding of what our enterprise partners need and prioritise, we strive to deliver innovative technologies that can help reduce energy consumption and manage operating costs.

The expansion of our enterprise sales for instance, already reflects the trust that we have earned from our customers.

Why HVAC Has Become a Growth Engine

Southeast Asia and Oceania’s building and construction sector is growing at a steady pace, whether it is building new smart cities and towns or rejuvenating old ones. According to GlobalData, Southeast Asia’s construction industry is forecast to grow faster[1] than the global rate in 2026. What’s particularly exciting is the region’s appetite for what’s next, from high-tech manufacturing plants to AI data centres that will define future economies.

Many of them need cooling that is smarter, more efficient and more reliable than what came before.

Samsung Electronics’ acquisition of FläktGroup brings us closer to that future by deepening our expertise in HVAC systems and enabling us to serve demanding environments, such as AI data centres where cooling and ventilation are critical to keep crucial systems and operations going.

Samsung is establishing a new FläktGroup HVAC production line at the Gwangju plant in Korea to support production of advanced cooling solutions for AI data centres

Here in this region, demand is rising across a diverse range of building types. In Vietnam, we’re supplying around 3,000 WindFree air-conditioning units to high-rise apartments as part of CapitaLand’s Sycamore development in Ho Chi Minh City, while more than 3,000 air-conditioning units will be installed in Starlake, a mixed-use complex in Hanoi.

In Thailand, we have rolled out HVAC systems across Thaiwatsadu’s retail stores which are also supported by SmartThings Pro to manage energy efficiency and simplify operational management. Additionally, 600 rooms in the 29 buildings of Sheraton Naiharn Hotel & Resort in Phuket will be outfitted with WindFree air-conditioning units. In Sydney, Australia, our cooling systems have been incorporated in residential projects such as Arncliffe Central and AURA by Aqualand.

Whether it’s a beach resort, or a cutting-edge data centre, our portfolio offers cooling solutions for a range of needs.

Extending the Opportunity Beyond Cooling

HVAC is not the only category that businesses are paying attention to. Urbanisation, changing lifestyles and growing demand for convenience are also driving adoption of suitable laundry solutions in B2B business sectors.

Building on decades of expertise in consumer appliances, we have expanded our laundry lineup for broader capacity choices to meet various B2B needs in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, with plans to explore bringing our B2B laundry solutions to more markets in Southeast Asia and Oceania.

TiTi Laundry amongst the first stores Samsung collaborated with to expand the automated laundry model in Vietnam.

TiTi Laundry in Ho Chi Minh City is one recent example. As one of the first partners that we collaborated with to expand the B2B laundry model in Vietnam, it is open around the clock, with machines that can be monitored and managed remotely. This business model allows connected appliances, such as Samsung’s B2B Laundry solutions, to create new business opportunities for operators, while making everyday life a little easier for the people they serve.

Building Smarter Business Environments

Together, these developments point to a broader change in how businesses are thinking about their physical spaces. Beyond standalone products, our customers increasingly want connected solutions that simplify management across an entire property, instead of having to look after individual systems.

This is taking shape at Granz Forest Park in Cebu, the Philippines, where we have partnered with real estate developer, DH Plus, to provide integrated operational solutions that combine AI-powered appliances, SmartThings Pro, and connected technologies within a single ecosystem, spanning residences, hotel and commercial facilities.

By offering technological expertise, an extensive suite of AI-powered appliances, and smart management platforms, Samsung is enabling businesses and building owners to construct and maintain spaces that are tailored to what users need, and opens new ways to optimise and expand their operations. Through integrated solutions that empower enterprises to optimise operations, help manage costs, and scale up, we are shaping the future of buildings and properties in Southeast Asia and Oceania, supporting the region’s further growth and development.

[1] SEA & Global: Construction Market Size, Trends & Forecast 2026-2030 | GlobalData
Australia: Australia Construction Market Size, Trend Analysis by Sector, Competitive Landscape and Forecast to 2030 (Q3 2026)

Across Southeast Asia and Oceania, many office towers, hotels, malls and mixed-use developments were constructed before today’s energy-efficiency expectations. With fluctuating climates across the region, Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) is among the fastest-growing uses of energy in buildings in Southeast Asia[2] — and as electricity prices climb, these ageing properties grow can more expensive to run over time.

That makes HVAC systems a key area to consider in retrofit. It can also be feasible to upgrade without major structural work, depending on the building. Tearing a building down to start over, by contrast, can be costly, carbon-intensive and slow. As such, a growing number of owners are now asking a different question: what if the smarter move is to upgrade what is already standing?

There are hardware and management tools that can address this growing need. For instance, integrating Samsung’s AI-powered energy management solutions with its intelligent HVAC and connected building technology can help improve efficiency.

Samsung’s DVM S2, Samsung’s Variable Refrigerant Flow system connects a single outdoor unit to as many as 64 indoor units, which may reduce the new piping and structural work a retrofit demands, while SmartThings[3] Pro’s AI Energy Mode[4] can automatically adjust compatible connected devices based on real-time conditions, electricity rates and comfort levels. Together they can help make an older property more responsive and efficient.

AI-enabled HVAC management: a route to potential energy savings

Because cooling often carries the heaviest energy load in commercial buildings, it is a logical place to look for potential efficiency gains.

Preserving heritage, upgrading comfort: how the Bali Beach Hotel Sanur retrofitted Samsung’s DVM solution across lobbies, spa rooms and fitness centres

Keen to balance historical preservation with guest comfort, the Bali Beach Hotel Sanur turned to Samsung’s DVM solution for space-tailored cooling — where temperatures are tuned to different environments like lobbies, spa rooms and fitness centres — paired with energy-saving technology and integrated B2B controls. With customisable systems and end-to-end support from consultation through to maintenance, the hotel was modernised.

Where the DVM S2 goes further is efficiency. The system can adapt its operation to a building’s recent usage patterns to help maintain the target conditions each space requires, which in internal testing reduced compressor energy usage by up to 15%.[5] Beyond hotels, a Bangkok office tower or a Sydney shopping centre may also see efficiency gains, depending on installation and operating conditions.

The rise of buildings that adapt how they are used

Historically, a retrofit was typically a single intervention whose performance could decline gradually as conditions changed. Intelligent systems can change that: the system can continue to adapt after installation is complete. The DVM S2 continuously detects indoor conditions and responds in real time, while SmartThings Pro’s AI Energy Mode5 can take into account conditions such as occupancy, weather and electricity tariffs when adjusting how hard each unit works.

The intended outcome is a building that adapts to how it is actually used — easing demand on unoccupied floors, and shifting load away from peak-tariff periods. These features are designed to help maintain over time.

How connected ecosystems reduce operating and maintenance costs

Savings may also be found in service calls that become unnecessary.

Since the DVM S2 and SmartThings Pro operate on a single connected platform, a facilities team can oversee an entire estate from one dashboard: viewing real-time energy analytics, performance trends and early warnings that surface before a fault escalates into a failure.

Predictive maintenance and remote diagnostics may help identify a struggling compressor or a refrigerant leak, supporting earlier intervention.

For owners running portfolios spread across cities, multi-site monitoring consolidates a dispersed estate into a single coherent view — this may help reduce emergency repairs and downtime, and support a maintenance program guided by real-time condition data rather than fixed intervals.

This connected ecosystem approach is being incorporated into new developments like Grantz Forest Park, a mixed-use project led by Samsung’s B2B Integrated Offering Center. The development is planned for Cebu, the Philippines, where residential facility managers will be able to remotely check in on the status of facilities through SmartThings Pro, while the Samsung Building Integrated Solution ‘b.IoT’ will enable control and management of HVAC, lighting, and power facilities to enhance building energy efficiency.

The path forward runs through buildings we already have

It’s tempting to treat new construction as the only real form of progress. But in Southeast Asia and Oceania, where HVAC systems consume significant volumes of energy and thousands of buildings already stand, the bigger opportunity isn’t in what gets built next — it’s in upgrading what’s already there.

For building owners across Southeast Asia and Oceania, the question shifts from whether to modernise, to how they can retrofit existing structures. With AI-powered HVAC solutions from Samsung, the region’s offices, hotel buildings, mixed-used developments and more, can take advantage of to the benefits offered by efficient and intelligent HVAC systems.

Frequently Asked Questions

[1] Over 10 different types of indoor units, ranging from 5,000 to 96,000 Btu/h.

[2] https://www.iea.org/reports/the-future-of-cooling-in-southeast-asia

[3] Available on Android and iOS devices. A Wi-Fi connection and a Samsung account are required. For a list of compatible connected devices, visit https://www.samsung.com/au/smartthings/.

[4] AI Energy Mode can be activated through Smart Things app while using a Auto mode. A Wi-Fi connection, Smart Things App and Samsung account are required. Smart Things App Stores user data, preferences and usage patterns in Samsung AI Cloud to suggest most useful options.

[5] Based on internal testing with an AM080AXVGGH/EU outdoor unit connected to AM083NN4DBH1 and AM145NN4DBH1 indoor units with 25m of piping, using the cooling operation in Auto mode for 4 hours, with an external temperature of 30°C of and a set temperature of 22°C. Results may vary depending on the actual installation and usage conditions, such as the piping length, elevation and external temperature.