Beijing is coming to the assistance of its solar energy manufacturers, now suffering through a major downturn due to a sudden cool-down in global sales. In one of two significant developments, the Chinese media are reporting that Beijing will give as much as $100 million to build new solar power plants in Africa, providing sorely needed sales for its domestic manufacturers that now supply more than half the world’s solar cells. (English article) On the same day that news appeared, debt-laden LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) also announced it has just obtained $240 million in much-needed funding by selling a stake in its polysilicon business to a group led by two Chinese state-controlled banks, China Development Bank and China Construction Bank (HKEx: 939; Shanghai: 601939). These two developments come just a week after another player, Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE) announced it had received a $180 million loan from another group of state-controlled banks. (previous post) This kind of support from Beijing is critical for its solar players, who have seen prices and margins drop sharply in recent weeks amid one of the industry’s most rapid downturns as many Western markets faze out incentives to install new solar plants that were introduced at the height of the global financial crisis. To pick up some of the slack, China is also quietly working on a plan to significantly boost incentives at home to build more solar power plants. (previous post) Look for more of this kind of support in the months ahead, as Beijing tries to keep this carefully nurtured but currently struggling sector from sliding into crisis.

Bottom line: Look for a steady stream of lifelines from Beijing to its struggling solar sector in the months ahead, including new financing and building of new power plants.

因全球行业销售骤减，中国太阳能产品制造商受到重创，中国政府如今正向他们伸出援手。其中的一个重大举措是，据中国媒体报导，中国政府将提供1亿美元，在非洲建设新的太阳能电厂，为国内太阳能电池制造商开拓市场。这个新闻出来的同一天，负债累累的江西赛维LDK太阳能<LDK.N>也宣布，公司刚刚通过向国家开发银行和中国建设银行<0939.HK><601939.SS>牵头的财团售出其多晶硅业务的部分股权，筹得 2.4亿美元的急需资金。而一周前，英利绿色能源<YGE.N>宣布从另一批国有银行那里获得了1.8亿美元贷款。对於近几周来受国际市场环境恶化影响，产品售价和利润都大幅下跌的中国太阳能厂商来说，北京的这次支持可谓一场及时雨。中国政府还默默地在国内推行一项激励计划，以大大鼓励国内建设太阳能电厂。预计中国政府在未来几个月还会出台更多类似扶助措施，以免这块小心培育但现况不佳的行业滑入危机。

一句话：预计中国政府未来几个月会持续推出扶助太阳能产业的举措，包括提供新融资和建设新电厂。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ China Comes to Rescue With Yingli Loan 英利获贷款承诺 政府终出手相助

◙ Italian Cloud Casts Shadow on Solar Sector, Pressures Beijing 意大利阴云笼罩中国太阳能产业

◙ China Boosts Solar Firms with Power Plan 中国太阳能产业荣景可待

Industry watchers are undoubtedly amused at the ongoing spat between crosstown Chinese rivals Huawei Technologies and ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063), which could potentially weaken these two rising giants unlike any competition from worried global players like Ericsson (Stockholm ERICb) or Alcatel Lucent (Paris: ALU). In the latest twist of this saga, which began when Huawei sued ZTE in April (previous post), ZTE has launched a new round of legal action against Huawei claiming infringement of its patents in the emerging 4G LTE space. (English article) This latest action comes after Beijing tried, apparently unsuccessfully, to mediate a truce in this unfolding drama between two of its most promising tech companies, which both rely heavily on exports. (previous post) This new lawsuit could prove potentially damaging to Huawei if it goes forward, as the legal action aims at 4G — expected to be a major growth driver for both companies as telcos upgrade to next-generation LTE networks. What’s more, this lawsuit aims to put the brakes on a trial LTE network that Huawei is currently building for China Mobile (NYSE: CHL; HKEx: 941) in both companies’ headquarters city of Shenzhen. While this kind of back-and-forth lawsuits isn’t exactly helpful for business, it’s quite common in the West and thus it’s refreshing to see it happening in China where Beijing more often  urges companies to try to live together in harmony. I’m guessing Beijing may still try to mediate this dispute, aiming to keep it from completely spinning out of control and potentially hobbling two of its biggest export superstars.

Bottom line: The latest escalation in the Huawei-ZTE dispute shows this conflict is spinning out of control, which could prompt Beijing to soon step in and impose a settlement.

毫无疑问，行业观察人士对华为和中兴通讯<000063.SZ> <0763.HK>之间的持续争端感到很好奇。与爱立信<ERICb.ST>或阿尔卡特-朗讯<ALUA.PA>等海外对手发起的竞争不同，华为和中兴之间的争执可能让他们两败俱伤。这场争端开始於4月份，当时华为将中兴告上法庭。如今中兴对华为发起了新一轮法律行动，称华为侵犯了其在4G长期演进技术(LTE)领域的专利。此前中国政府曾尝试调解双方的争执，但看来未能奏效。如果这场新官司继续打下去，华为可能会受到相当程度的冲击，因为这场控诉是针对4G的，而随着电信运营商升级至下一代LTE网络，上述技术料将成为两家公司未来增长的主要驱动力。而且，中兴的诉讼还旨在叫停华为正在深圳为中国移动<0941.HK> <CHL.N>建设的LTE测试网络。虽然这种官司对生意没什麽好处，但其实它在西方很普遍。而看到这种情况也发生在政府倾向於要求企业之间保持和谐的中国，倒是挺让人感觉新鲜的。我估计中国政府还会继续试图调停，以让事态不至于失控，避免这两家出口明星企业自相残杀。

一句话：华为和中兴之争升级，说明这场冲突面临失控危险，而中国政府可能会很快介入，以促成双方和解。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Beijing Plays ‘Father Knows Best’ In Huawei-ZTE Spat 中国政府插手华为与中兴之争

◙ Huawei Pounces on Hapless ZTE With Lawsuit

◙ Huawei Prowess on Display in Italy 华为意大利发威

The short lovefest between former archrivals Alibaba Group and eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) has ended almost as quickly as it began, as the US online auctions giant gears up for another possible move into China’s blossoming e-commerce market. Many were surprised (or at least I was) last year when eBay CEO John Donahoe showed up as the guest of honor in Hangzhou at Alifest, Alibaba’s annual shindig where it talks about the latest tech trends. A few months before the event, the pair of former bitter rivals signaled their friendly approach when eBay’s PayPal online payments unit entered a tie-up with Alibaba’s AilExpress service. Now just a year after that partnership began, PayPal has quietly announced on its blog it is ending the tie-up. (company announcement; Chinese article) PayPal wasn’t saying much more, except that the AliExpress deal was providing an immaterial amount of the $4.4 billion in Greater China sales volume it handled last year. But clearly eBay no longer sees Alibaba as integral to its success in China, if it ever did at all. In fact eBay may even be gearing up for its own new play into China, my company sources tell me. PayPal itself is in the process of applying for a license to offer domestic online payment services, which, if it moves ahead in that area, would put it in direct competition with Alibaba’s Alipay service. What’s more, eBay’s agreement to confine its domestic e-commerce efforts to a moribund joint venture with Tom Group that it signed in 2006, will officially end at the end of this year, meaning eBay will be free to pursue its own new domestic e-commerce initiatives after that time. While eBay is unlikely to try out online auctions again, it will certainly need to look closely at potential partnerships with the many interesting more traditional e-commerce companies such as Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) that are now doing big business in China’s domestic market.

Bottom line: eBay’s cutting of ties with Alibaba comes as the US e-commerce giant prepares to make potential new moves into China.

来也匆匆，去也匆匆——阿里巴巴<1688.HK>和eBay<EBAY.O>之间的短暂蜜月期已经结束，後者有可能再度直接进军中国蓬勃发展的电子商务市场。很多人（包括我）去年曾对eBay首席执行官约翰·多纳霍(John Donahoe)去杭州参加阿里巴巴网商交易年会AliFest感到惊讶。在此次年会之前不久，阿里巴巴和eBay这两家昔日死对头相互作出友好姿态，eBay旗下PayPal支付平台宣布与阿里巴巴的全球速卖通（AliExpress）合作。仅仅一年之後的今天，PayPal已悄悄在其博客上宣布，这项合作走到了尽头。PayPal没有说很多，仅表示在它去年于大中华区处理的44亿美元总交易支付额中，与AliExpress合作项目贡献甚微。但可以肯定的是，eBay 已不再把阿里巴巴视为其中国战略的一部分。我的消息人士说，事实上eBay可能正准备推出自己的进军中国新策略。PayPal正在申请许可，以在中国国内提供网络支付服务，而这将使其与阿里巴巴的支付宝（Alipay）形成直接竞争关系。另外，eBay与TOM集团在2006年结成的中国国内电子商务独家合作关系也将於今年底正式到期，意味着eBay即将摆脱该合作关系的束缚，可以独自在中国开展电子商务。虽然eBay不大可能再度在华尝试网络拍卖业务，但它肯定要密切关注与当当网<DANG.N>等传统电子商务企业的合作机会。

一句话：eBay与阿里巴巴中止合作，可能与前者在中国市场拿出新动作的计划不谋而合。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Wal-Mart Buys Into China E-Commerce 沃尔玛进军中国电子商务

◙ Alibaba’s Latest Yahoo Spat Masks Tepid Results 阿里巴巴与雅虎打口水仗是场烟幕弹？

◙ 360Buy — A $10 Bln Company? 京东商城价值100亿美元？

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on June 8. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.

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◙ LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) Reports Financial Results for Q1 of Fiscal 2011 (PRNewswire)

◙ LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) Consummates Sale of Minority Stake in Its Polysilicon Business (PRNewswire)

◙ Simcere (NYSE: SCR) Reaches Agreement with Former Shareholders of Jiangsu Quanyi (PRNewswire)

◙ China Telecom (HKEx: 728), Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Partner on Mobile Microblogging (English article)

◙ Philips (Amsterdam: PHG) Near Deal to Buy Povos for 250 million Yuan (Chinese article)

I have to admit I was caught completely by surprise to read that Lenovo (HKEx: 992) parent Legend Holdings is considering a potential move into the hotel business. (Chinese article) The group’s founder and Chairman Liu Chuanzhi made the admission in an interview with China’s Sina, though he didn’t give much detail beyond to say any such move would be designed to maintain a high level of returns for the group before a planned IPO as soon as 2014. Regular readers of this blog will know I’m a relatively big fan of China’s hotel sector, especially the fast-growing budget hotel space that caters to the legions of newly mobile Chinese eager to see their country. But in this case, Legend should stick to what it knows best, which is technology, stemming from its success with companies like Lenovo, PC parts supplier Digital China (HKEx: 861) and Hony Capital, its investment arm which also specializes mostly in funding for high tech start-ups. Liu clearly likes the idea of growth by M&A, as evidenced by Lenovo’s 2005 purchase of IBM’s (NYSE: IBM) PC business, its unsuccessful bid for Packard Bell a few years later, and its latest announcement last week that it plans to buy Germany’s Medion. (previous post) But considering the difficulty it had with integrating IBM’s PC business, an area where it had lots of experience, a major M&A in the unfamiliar lodging sector could end up as a major distraction at the very least, and a potential time-bomb at the worst, which is something investors would hardly want to see as the parent company prepares to go public.

Bottom line: Lenovo parent Legend Holdings should forget about moves into unfamiliar sectors like hotels and focus on expanding its core technology businesses.

我不得不承认，当我得知联想<0992.HK>母公司联想控股正考虑进军酒店业时，我着实感到意外。联想控股创始人和主席柳传志在接受新浪采访时承认了这点，尽管他并未透露过多细节，只是表示类似举动旨在使公司的回报率维持在一个高水准。联想控股计划最快在2014年首次公开募股。经常阅读我博客的读者应该知道，相对而言，我是中国酒店业、尤其是快速发展的经济型酒店行业的拥趸。但就此案而言，联想应坚持其优势项目——科技。很明显，柳传志喜欢通过并购获得增长的想法，这从联想2005年收购IBM个人电脑部门一事中可见一斑，几年後联想还试图收购Packard Bell，但未能如愿。最新消息是，联想计划收购德国消费电子产品企业Medion。但有鉴於联想在整合IBM个人电脑业务时所遇到的困难，它若在相对不熟悉的酒店业进行大规模收购，往小了说会分散其注意力，往大了说会成为一颗潜在的定时炸弹。对於一家准备上市的公司而言，这可不是投资者愿意看到的事情。

一句话：联想控股应放弃进军酒店业等不熟悉行业的举措，集中精力拓展其核心的技术领域。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Lenovo Makes Strange Move Into Germany 联想进军德国令人摸不着头脑

◙ Lenovo’s Game Console — Yet Another Plan 联想：新推游戏机，这次能行吗？

◙ Lenovo’s LePad: Finally a Game Plan That Could Work 联想乐Pad：终於拿出了像样的东西

So, just how much importance does China put on Huawei Technologies, its top exporter of high-tech equipment? The answer is quite a bit, based on the company’s prominence at a trip to Italy last week by Xi Jinping, the man tapped to become China’s next president and party boss. Huawei and its high-tech wares were the centerpiece of a $3.3 billion package of Italian deals to buy Chinnese goods signed during Xi’s trip, accounting for $1.3 billion of the total value, or more than a third. (English article) Huawei’s deals with two telcos, including Telecom Italia, include $360 million for broadband equipment. The rest will likely come in future orders for future 4G systems, though nothing was specified in the media reports. Most of the other deals mentioned during the trip were of the more basic variety that China is trying to move away from, such as oil and finance. The fact that Xi was acting as Huawei’s ambassador on one of his first trips abroad since his ascendancy shows that Beijing will push hard on the global stage for this company, which symbolizes the kind of exports it would like to do more of in the future. Of course, such high profile backing from Beijing will hardly help to dispel Western suspicions that Huawei’s government ties go deeper than either side will admit. But as I’ve written previously, I’m expecting to see some major developments from Huawei in the coming months, including a possible commitment to build a major new manufacturing facility in either North American or Europe (previous post), as it presses forward with its determination to become a major global force with Beijing’s backing.

中国到底有多重视华为呢？答案是，非常重视，这从华为在中国国家副主席习近平上周意大利之行中所占的地位可以看出。华为和两家意大利公司签署了13亿美元的合同，占此次意中所签33亿美元合作协议总额的三分之一强。华为此次向意方出售的包括3.6亿美元的宽带设备，还可能包括未来的4G系统。习近平此行力挺华为的事实说明，中国政府将在世界范围内大力支持该公司。当然，中国政府这种高调的支持无助於化解西方对华为政府背景的怀疑。但正如我之前所写的那样，我预计华为会在未来数月拿出一些重要举措，包括可能承诺在北美或欧洲建设一处新的重要生产基地，以力争在中国政府的支持下成为一支全球行业巨擘。

一句话：即将於明年登台的下一届中国政府将大力推动西方世界接受华为。

Bottom line: China will push hard for acceptance of Huawei by the West in the next year, with strong backing from the incoming administration of Xi Jinping.

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Huawei on PR, Spending Blitzes to Shore Up Global Prospects 华为砸钱大打公关战 打造国际形象

◙ Beijing Plays ‘Father Knows Best’ In Huawei-ZTE Spat 中国政府插手华为与中兴之争

◙ Growth-Addicted Huawei Looks to the Cloud 华为渴求增长上瘾 着眼云计算

After 2 months of silence following its latest spat with Beiijing, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) has suddenly reappeared on the China map, and early signs look like the impasse may be moving towards a positive resolution. Chinese  media are reporting that in what looks like a subtle shift, Beijing has determined that any foreign operator of an online mapping service in China must still have a Chinese partner, but it has “clarified” that such a local partner need not hold a majority stake in the venture. (Chinese article) As many may recall, the latest impasse broke out in late March and early April, when Google failed to submit an application before a Beijing-imposed deadline for government registration off all companies offering mapping services in China. (previous post) The deadline was part of a broader recent trend that has seen Beijing try to take a more assertive posture in registering and regulating this kind of emerging industry. Google belatedly entered into talks with the central government, but never made any official public remarks on the situation. With this latest development, it appears the two sides may be inching towards a compromise by allowing Beijing to force Google into a local joint venture, while letting Google keep clear control of the business. At the end of the day, Beijing is probably realizing it benefits no one to lock an industry leader and innovator like Google out of its market, while Google itself also realizes China is too big to ignore, following its high-profile withdrawal last year from the domestic search market.

Bottom line: A potential compromise in the latest spat between Google and Beijing could mark the start of a more pragmatic relationship between China and foreign media.

谷歌<GOOG.O>在经历两个月的沉默後，突然重新在中国浮出水面，早期迹象显示其在华业务僵局或许正朝着积极方向发展。据中国媒体报导，中国规定，在华提供在线地图服务的海外运营企业仍必须成立合资企业，但明确表示中方企业无须控股。很多人应该记得，今年3月底、4月初，谷歌与中国政府在地图服务上陷入僵局，当时谷歌未能在中国政府规定的最後期限内申请互联网地图服务测绘资质。谷歌较晚才开始与中国政府展开谈判，且对此问题没有发表任何公开声明。而鉴於事态最新进展，即谷歌似乎同意北京建立合资企业的要求，而北京看来也允许谷歌控制该合资企业，似乎双方距离妥协又近了一步。北京或许最终意识到，将谷歌这样的行业领袖与创新企业挡在门外，与人与己都无好处。而谷歌在去年高调退出中国内地搜索市场後，也认识到中国市场实在大得难以忽略。

一句话：谷歌与中国政府有望就最新争执达成妥协，这可能标志着中国与外国媒体的关系将开始变得更加务实。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Google Falling Off The China Map 谷歌地图：谈判也没用

◙ Google Bracing for Another Clash with Beijing 谷歌：英雄气短

◙ Despite China Rebuff, Facebook Going Back for More Facebook明知山有虎，偏向虎山行

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on June 4-7. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.

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◙ Shanda Interactive (Nasdaq: SNDA) 1st-Quarter Net Down 61%; Expenses Up (English article)

◙ Xueda (NYSE: XUE) Withdraws Secondary Offer, Reaffirms Q2, FY Revenue Outlook (Businesswire)

◙ China Mobile (NYSE: CHL; HKEx: 941) to Procure 10 Mln 3G Terminals (Chinese article)

◙ BofA (NYSE: BAC) May Sell CCB (HKEx: 939) Stake to Avoid Share Sale, Citigroup Says (English article)

◙ eBay’s (Nasdaq: EBAY) PayPal Cuts Overseas Cooperation with Alibaba (HKEx: 1688) (Chinese article)

I read with interest over my morning coffee that Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) and prominent Hong Kong restaurant operator Maxim’s appear to be getting divorced, with the announcement that the former will take sole control of all south China Starbucks shops while the latter will take over all their Hong Kong outlets. (company announcement) I’ll have to do a quick bit of speculation here on what this all means, as I don’t know many details about this partnership even though I’m quite familiar with the companies, which both have excellent reputations in their home markets. My quick take is that this divorce probably reflects an inability to work well together, as both companies certainly have strong ideas about running a restaurant, especially in China where the cost of a cup of coffee is quite pricey compared with local incomes. At the same time, Maxim’s has never really shown a huge interest in China for its own brands, unlike Starbucks which is building new stores like crazy and just last year announced a major commitment to support local coffee growing in Yunnan province, China’s only natural coffee growing region. So what’s it all mean and who comes out the winner? In this case it could be a win-win, as Maxim’s gets to pull out of a market for which it apparently has little taste and quickly recoup its investment. Starbucks, meantime, gets to take over its China show completely, with both its challenges and rewards. Starbucks has tasted success in China’s big cities, where its stores are usually packed with lounging young professionals relaxing over a cup of daily brew. But whether or not it can replicate that success in less affluent southern cities where its Maxim partnership were concentrated could be more challenging as it seeks out a suitable business mix for these areas.

Bottom line: Starbucks’ buy out of its long-time partner in South China could become a major growth opportunity if it can figure out how to sell pricey drinks to consumers in less affluent cities.

早上喝咖啡的时候看到一条很有意思的新闻，星巴克<SBUX.O>与香港知名餐饮品牌美心似乎正闹“离婚”，双方宣布星巴克收回中国南方所有星巴克店面的全部所有权，而所有香港店面归美心独有。此举意味着什麽我还不是很确定，因为虽然我对这两家在各自本土市场声名卓着的公司很熟悉，但双方合作的细节我并不是很了解。我的第一反应是，两公司“分家”可能反映出两家无法很好地合作，因为双方对於如何经营餐饮企业都各自有着很强烈的见解，尤其是在中国，毕竟这里一杯咖啡的价格相对於当地收入而言相当贵。同时，美心对於在中国大陆拓展自有品牌从未表现出特别大的兴趣，而星巴克正在中国疯狂建立新店面，去年还宣布将大力扶持云南的咖啡种植业。那麽这到底意味着什麽？谁才是赢家？这种情况下，它可能是一种双赢局面，因为美心可以退出自己似乎无甚兴趣的市场，并迅速回收投资。而星巴克可以完全掌控其中国业务，尽管这里是挑战与机遇并存。星巴克在中国大城市已经尝到了胜利甜头，因为那里年轻的职业人士已习惯每天用一杯醇香的星巴克咖啡来放松心情。但是星巴克能否在富裕程度稍逊一筹的那些中国南方城市复制这一成功可能会更有挑战性，毕竟它与美心的合作一直集中在这块地区。

一句话：星巴克在中国南方城市买断其店面可能会成为一个重大成长机遇，前提是它要学会在不那麽富裕的城市向消费者推销其较为昂贵的饮品。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Starbucks China Expansion: New Brew Needed to Serve Up Success

◙ McDonald’s Revs Up for China Drive-Thru 麦当劳寄望“得来速”汽车餐厅拓宽中国市场

◙ China’s Heavy Hand Leaves Investors Wary on YUM’s Little Sheep Buy 百胜难吞小肥羊

There’s an interesting news bit coming from China’s rapidly rising pharmaceuticals industry, where global giant Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) has just announced it will join with local Chinese partner Hisun (Shanghai: 600267) to form a joint venture to tap what’s expected to be a boom in demand for low-cost drugs. (company announcement) The back story here, of course, is that China is overhauling its health care, introducing a system of heavily subsidized clinics nationwide to take the place of a former socialist system where state-run work units provided free cradle-to-grave care for all their employees. The overhaul will of course favor domestic makers of quality low-cost drugs, which is exactly what Pfizer is chasing with this tie-up. From the looks of the announcement, the venture will focus mostly on generic medicines, but both companies could also provide their own intellectual propertyl. I don’t know a lot about Hisun, but presumably Pfizer has done its homework and feels this is a partner it can work with. If that’s the case, this kind of pairing could be just what the doctor ordered for both sides, as Chinese health officials will undoubtedly be happy to give preferable treatment to drugs from a company with both a strong domestic Chinese partner and also one with the Pfizer seal of approval, guaranteeing the quality of its products.

Bottom line: Pfizer’s new joint venture with Hisun should position both companies well to tap huge demand for cheap generic drugs under Chinese health care reform.

中国医药领域的一则新闻：全球医药届巨头辉瑞<PFE.N>刚刚宣布，将与海正药业股份有限公司<600267.SS>成立合资公司，开拓中国需求巨大的低成本药品市场。这一举动的背景是，中国正在推动医改，拟发展国家补贴下的公立自愿医疗保险制度。改革肯定会惠及中国国内高质量低价药品制造商，这正是辉瑞希望进行此次合作的原因。从声明看，合资公司将主要生产非专利药，但双方也可能提供自己的知识产权。我不太了解海正，但估计辉瑞是事先作了功课，并感到这的确是一个可以合作的夥伴。如果是这样，这种组合可能会很理想，因为中国的卫生官员肯定会愿意优待这样一家既有很强的国内制药商合作方，又有辉瑞，这样一家在药品质量上有保障的合作方。

一句话：在中国医改的大背景下，辉瑞与海正成立合资公司，开拓中国需求巨大的低成本药品市场，对双方都有利。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Shanghai Pharma IPO Looks Like Good Medicine 上海医药IPO似为一剂良药

◙ Fosun Pharma Offers Window to China Healthcare Reform

After seeing its solar panel makers struggle for the better part of a year in one of their worst ever downturns, Beijing is finally stepping in to help this promising sector that has fallen on hard times. Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE), one of the stronger  players, has announced that it’s just received a 5-year, 1.2 billion yuan ($180 million) loan from two Chinese government-controlled banks, Bank of China and CITIC. (company announcement) While the size of this loan isn’t really that big, the broader significance is that China is stepping up to make sure its carefully nurtured solar sector gets the working capital it needs to whether the current industry downturn, that has seen panel prices plunge and inventory accumulate as urgency faded from the global drive to develop alternate energy sources. Readers of this blog will know that earlier this week wind power company Ming Yang (NYSE: MY) had to shelve a secondary offering due to weak market sentiment (previous post), and just before that LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) had to abandon a debt offering for similar reasons. (previous post). As I’ve said before, what Beijing really needs to do is boost its own drive to install more solar power plants, which would create domestic demand for these companies that now rely almost exclusively on the largess of foreign government subsidies to fuel their sales. But in the meantime, these kind of loans to the healthier solar firms should help them survive the current downturn.

Bottom line: A new $180 million loan for Yingli by Chinese banks shows Beijing is aware of the cash crunch many are facing, with more similar financing is likely in the months ahead.

太阳能行业严重不景气之际，中国太阳能电池板生产商今年挣扎不已，现在中国政府终於出手相助。英利绿色能源<YGE.N>宣布，获得中国银行与中信银行两家共计11.6亿元人民币的五年期贷款。虽然贷款数目不算太大，但其更重要的意义在於，中国政府开始参与进来，确保其精心呵护的太阳能行业获得所需要的运营资金来挺过目前行业颓势。眼下伴随全球发展替代能源迫切性减弱，太阳能电池板价格大挫，库存不断积压。我此前曾在文章中提到因市场情绪低落，中国明阳<MY.N>不得不撤回第二轮增发，而此前江西赛维太阳能<LDK.N>也因类似原因放弃债券融资计划。我之前亦说过，北京真正需要做的是加大太阳能发电厂建设力度，此举可提振国内需求，因目前这些企业严重依赖外国政府的慷慨补贴来推动产品销售。同时，向较为健康的太阳能企业提供此类贷款还可帮助他们度过目前行业颓势。

一句话：中国两家银行向英利提供11.6亿元人民币贷款显示，北京意识到了眼下很多企业面临的资金紧张困局，未来数月可能还会有更多类似融资。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Canadian Solar, GCL JV Looks Like Consolidation Template 阿斯特阳光电力与保利协鑫的合资公司似是未来整合样板

◙ Ming Yang Headwinds Spotlight Sector Woes 明阳挫折凸显行业之殇

◙ China Boosts Solar Firms with Power Plan 中国太阳能产业荣景可待