Suntech (NYSE: STP), in many ways a pioneer in China’s booming solar industry, is taking another baby step into the new area of solar services — a move that looks quite good in my view. According to a China Daily report, the company, China’s first to list in New York — is getting into the more lucrative area of systems design and integration. This move seems like a no-brainer to me, and one that’s bound to pay off handsomely in the future after Suntech gets a handle on its large debt. After all, what better way to boost your sales than to provide services to support and promote them. This is exactly the kind of approach that many of the PC makers, including Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) and HP (NYSE: HPQ) have taken in recent years. In addition to boosting demand for their hardware, these companies have all discovered that providing services is much more profitable and less capital intensive than traditional manufacturing.
Bottom line: Suntech’s move into solar design services is a bright one that should help to fatten its profit margins and boost its product sales.
中国太阳能光伏产业的先行者尚德<STP.N>开始涉足太阳能服务领域。《中国日报》一篇报 道称，作为第一家在美国上市的中国太阳能企业，尚德又领先进军利润率更高的系统设计和整合业务。这在我看来是非常自然的一步，并且将在未来产生丰厚收益。这种策略正是戴尔<DELL.O>和惠普<HPQ.N>等老牌PC厂商近 年来所采取的。它们已经尝到了甜头：提供咨询和服务不但有助於刺激自己制造的硬件的销量，而且与传统制造业相比，资本密集程度较低，而利润率更高。
一句话：尚德进军太阳能发电系统设计服务领域，实为明智之举，有助於增加利润率，扩大产品销量。
Related postings 有关文章:
◙ Japan Nuclear Woes Brighten Outlook for Solar Firms 日本核危机提振太阳能公司前景
But before anyone gets too excited, let’s think about this: People in the West generally avoid Chinese cars for safety and reliability issues, despite their cheap price tags. Big bus operators will be even more sensitive on such issues, especially safety, due to costly liability when accidents occur. In light of all that, I would say it could be quite a while before Chinese bus makers drive into the West.
There’s some mildly interesting news coming from telecoms equipment giant Huawei, which Chinese media say is setting up an independent board of directors for its Australian business to be peopled mostly by local Australians. (
that’s $1 million that shareholders will have to swallow, which will mean a small hit to the bottom line in the current quarter. But there’s a more interesting picture here for the future, namely that this company is well positioned to reap big potential benefits when the Japanese reconstruction gets underway in earnest, which is likely to happen in the second half of the year.
Most importantly, the company needs to go back to basics and re-learn how to make cars the people want, rather than spending its energy telling everyone how great it is and how its largely untested green products are going to revolutionize the market. It made an interesting move last week in the auto financing arena (
It seems that LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK), one of the weaker players in China’s solar industry, is telling investors a new plant it’s just opened in Anhui province will help it significantly reduce costs by boosting its capacity (
What does all the chatter mean? It sounds suspiciously like what happened last year, when Google threatened to pull out of China’s search market, then tried to “negotiate” with Beijing, only to finally pull out anyhow. The message is: Google has pretty much given up on China’s Internet market due to all the rules and regulations, and is most likely to pull out of mapping as well despite any “negotiations.” But it needs to be careful to avoid upsetting Beijing too much at the risk of getting its promising Android mobile operating system kicked out as well.
Shanghai’s Bright Food seems determined to do some overseas m&a, raising nearly $1 billion via a bond offering and an IPO in pursuit of such opportunities. (
move by Ericsson hits ZTE right where it really hurts, as Europe was one of its last major markets where it was still doing well. This latest lawsuit could make potential customers there hesitate before signing any new orders, dealing another blow to its business. I had already flagged 2011 as a year when ZTE could see its growth slow sharply, and this latest development further cements that view. If things keep going this way, we could actually see their overseas new orders shrink in 2011.
I had a hard time believing the news when I first read about it, but now apparently consumer Web site 360Buy Chairman Liu Qiangdong has gone on the record saying his company has just received a whopping $1.5 billion in third-round investment funding — easily the biggest such investment ever for a China start-up. (
So, who else out there was surprised to read the reports that Baidu’s Robin Li was seen dancing shirtless with two strange women at a Beijing nightclub? April fools! Sorry, I just had to get in at least one April fools reference today. But on a more serious note, there’s an interesting report in the China Securities News saying Japan’s ongoing nuclear woes are making China rethink its nuclear strategy, to the benefit of its thriving solar industry. （
