China’s plan to add up to 35 gigawatts of new solar power capacity by 2015 may be getting off to a slow start, but the nation looks quite happy to fund new plants in other countries to help its struggling solar panel makers. That’s my initial assessment, following reports that state-run giant Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC) plans to build up solar power plants with up to 300 megawatts of capacity in Britain.
It’s interesting that AVIC has chosen the UK for its solar experiment, since Beijing is pressuring such big state-owned firms to construct new solar plants at home to boost local panel makers and reduce pollution from conventional power sources. But it’s also not a complete surprise that AVIC is making this kind of move, for reasons I’ll explain shortly. The bottom line could be good news for China’s struggling solar panel makers, though I suspect AVIC will also come under pressure to buy some of the solar panels for these new plants from western manufacturers as well. Read Full Post…
China sent an important message to the struggling solar panel sector last week when one of the country’s major manufacturers was forced to turn to global capital markets to raise new funds, hinting that it couldn’t receive the money from state-backed domestic sources. The move sparked a sell-off for New York-listed shares of Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE), as its request for funds met with a frosty response on Wall Street. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 26-28. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Budget Airline Spring Plans $400m IPO In Shanghai (English article)
Cheetah Mobile Announces IPO Price Range, To Raise Up To $200 Mln (Chinese article)
Yingli (NYSE: YGE) Announces Pricing Of Offering of 25 Mln ADSs (PRNewswire)
Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) To Exhibit Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Glass In China (English article)
Many Return To Work After Yue Yuen (HKEx: 551) Offer In China Strike (English article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 24. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Xiaomi To Enter 10 New Countries For Smartphone Sales (English article)
China National Cable TV Operator Completes Registration (Chinese article)
Qihoo (NYSE: QIHU), Sungy (Nasdaq: GOMO) Partner To Target Global Expansion (PRNewswire)
China Telecom (HKEx: 728) To Release 4G Handsets In May – Sources (English article)
Yingli (NYSE: YGE) Proposes Follow-on Public Offering of 25 Mln ADSs (PRNewswire)
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…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 17. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Citic Pacific (HKEx: 267) In $36.5 Bln Deal To Buy Parent’s Main Business (English article)
China Cellphone Shipments Drop 24.7 Pct In Q1 – MIIT (Chinese article)
Alibaba Could File Prospectus For US IPO Next Week – Sources (Chinese article)
Yingli (NYSE: YGE), Sailing Capital Form 1 Bln Yuan Renewable Energy Fund (PRNewswire)
Taxi App Didi Dache Lands $700 Mln in New Funding – Market Talk (English article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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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…
Solar panel maker Yingli (NYSE: YGE) and social networking site Renren (NYSE: RENN) don’t normally have too much in common, other than the fact that both are based in China and come from the tech sector. But on this particular day, both are joined by the unflattering fact that their latest earnings reveal companies deeply mired in the red, sparking sharp drops in their share prices. Yingli’s situation certainly isn’t encouraging, though its issues look more temporary. Renren is a different story, and its latest numbers show the company won’t be able to survive on its own over the longer term and it would be well advised to start looking for a strategic partner. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 19. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Tencent (HKEx: 700), New Oriental (NYSE: EDU) In Online Education JV – Sources (English article)
Unicom (HKEx: 762) Announces 4G Plans Starting At 76 Yuan Per Month (Chinese article)
Online Classifieds Site Ganji Very Profitable, Considering IPO – CEO (Chinese article)
Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE) Reports Q4 and Full Year 2013 Results (PRNewswire)
ZTE (HKEx: 763) Wins Final Ruling from US ITC in FlashPoint Case (Businesswire)
Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) was one of the best performers of China’s rebounding solar sector last year, and now it’s testing investor appetite for its comeback story with a plan to raise about $200 million by issuing stock and bonds. Investors gave the plan a lukewarm response, sparking a sell off that saw Canadian Solar’s shares drop 7.5 percent after the announcement. Of course it’s also worth noting that Canadian Solar stock rose more than 10-fold last year, as it became the first major player to return to profitability after a prolonged sector downturn. Read Full Post…
