I wrote earlier this week about troublesome signs for the solar panel sector’s fledgling recovery after a revenue warning from Trina (NYSE: TSL), and now we’re seeing another worrisome signal with news that Yingli (NYSE: YGE) is launching a new fund to build solar power plants. This kind of scheme looks eerily similar to one that kicked off the downfall of former industry leader Suntech (NYSE: STPFQ), though there are also a few differences. Still, Yingli’s latest move signals that the industry may not have learned its lesson from the Suntech debacle. Read Full Post…
After watching their shares and prospects soar over the past year, solar stocks are suddenly hitting a cloudy patch as investors anxiously wait for most companies to return to the profit column following a 2 year sector downturn. That wait may have just gotten a lot longer, following a warning from Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) that it will fall far short of its previous sales forecasts for the just-ended first quarter.
Trina blames the problem on short-term factors, as it and other Chinese panel makers work to finalize an agreement to avoid the European Union’s previous threat of anti-dumping tariffs. But hidden in the optimism from Trina and its Chinese peers is the fact that the new agreement is likely to have many of the same effects as the original punitive tariffs. That means most of these Chinese companies will suddenly face resurgent new competition from western rivals in Europe once a deal is reached. Read Full Post…
One of China’s 2 major meltdowns in the solar panel sector has taken a big step forward with word that trading in shares of LDK (NYSE: LDK) has been suspended and the de-listing process formally begun as the company liquidates. Meantime, word of a missed interest payment by a building materials maker is sending the latest signal that China will let more companies in ailing sectors default on their debt rather than pay off their creditors. That’s an important signal for the solar sector, which relies heavily on such debt to finance its operations and where many smaller players are in danger of similar defaults. Read Full Post…
China and the European Union have reached a new settlement that should formally end their ongoing dispute over solar panels, contrasting sharply from a more confrontational tack taken by the US in a similar spat. Meantime in other solar news, a looming new bond default by a mid-sized panel maker has become the latest sign that Beijing is prepared to let more of these smaller companies miss their debt payments. That approach will force these smaller firms to either leave the industry or sell their money-losing operations to larger peers, in a much-needed industry consolidation. Read Full Post…
After a massive rally over the last year, shares of solar panel makers could be set for a few months of winter following a disappointing earnings announcement from superstar Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) and a debt default from second-tier player Chaori Solar (Shenzhen: 002506). Such a correction was almost inevitable after last year’s huge rally and shouldn’t be cause for concern among long-term buyers of shares in top players like Canadian Solar. But shareholders of second-tier firms like Chaori might think strongly about selling their stock, as these smaller companies could easily end up getting wiped out or sold for bargain prices in the sector’s ongoing consolidation as it emerges from a 2-year downturn.
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 15-17. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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US To Pursue Trade Dispute Over Chinese, Taiwanese Solar Imports (English article)
China’s Wanxiang Wins US Bankruptcy Auction For Fisker Automotive (English article)
Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS) Acquires Controlling Interest In Lefeng For $133 Mln (PRNewswire)
Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) Guangdiantong Unveils WeChat Public Account Ad Product (English article)
Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Sets Up Transport Services Headquarters (Chinese article)
The month of February could mark the final sunset for solar panel maker Suntech (OTC: STPFQ), with 2 major events on the calendar that look like the swansong for this former solar energy pioneer. If the ending does indeed come, it would be almost a year after Suntech first was forced into bankruptcy in a Chinese court in its home city of Wuxi, kicking off a contentious process that saw many of its top executives and board members leave and rival Shunfeng Photovoltaic (HKEx: 1165) purchase most of its China-based assets. One of the biggest remaining questions will be how much, if anything, holders of the company’s stock get for their shares. Read Full Post…
Just days after China finalized anti-dumping tariffs on US makers of polysilicon, the main ingredient used to make solar panels, the US has announced it is opening a new anti-dumping investigation into solar panels imported from China. The close timing of this latest round of developments in a solar trade dispute between the US and China may look worrisome on the surface, especially if they had come a year ago. But in this case the solar signals seem less confrontational to me, as both Washington and Beijing finally realize the sector is too important for the world’s energy security to jeopardize with more trade wars. Read Full Post…
New signals from Beijing hint at a problem I’ve talked about for the last 2 months as China embarks on a major solar energy program, namely that many new plants being built could become useless white elephants. Potential for such a problem is very real, and could end up not only costing enthusiastic builders of new power plants billions of dollars in wasted funds, but could also leave solar panel makers themselves with huge amounts of unpaid bills. Meantime, the latest signals from Suntech (NYSE: STPFQ) and LDK (NYSE: LDK) indicate these 2 former giants are nearing the end of their lives, as each looks set to disappear in an ongoing industry consolidation. Read Full Post…
More bright signs are emerging in the solar panel sector with word of 2 major new tie-ups, one involving ReneSola (NYSE: SOL) in Japan and the other Yingli (NYSE: YGE) in China. In the first, ReneSola has signed a massive deal to sell panels to a Japanese solar power plant developer. The latter case looks similar, with Yingli in its own deal for a major joint venture to co-develop new solar power plants with one of China’s top nuclear power companies. Read Full Post…
The new year has just begun, and already we’re getting signals that 2014 will be full of new twists and surprises for the solar panel sector as it struggles to emerge from its downturn dating back nearly 3 years. A clash involving Chinese panel makers accused by western rivals of receiving unfair state support looks set to enter a new phase, based on an announcement of new action in the US by SolarWorld (Frankfurt: SWV), the German panel maker that has led the charge against the Chinese companies. Meantime, a separate new joint venture announcement from Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE) looks smart, and reflects the new reality that China will become a major driver of solar plant construction in 2014. Read Full Post…
