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…
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 following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 8. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Tencent (HKEx: 700) In Talks To Invest In Jingdong – Source (English article)
Yingli (NYSE: YGE), China National Nuclear Corp In Solar Projects JV (PRNewswire)
Lenovo (HKEx: 992) To Gradually Enter US Smartphone Market – Americas Chief (Chinese article)
Alibaba, Suning Chances Good For 1st Round Of Private Bank Licenses (Chinese article)
China Suspends Ban On Video Game Consoles After More Than A Decade (English article)
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…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 3. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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More good news is coming for the rebounding solar sector with word that Beijing is accelerating its build-up of solar power plants in a bid to help the industry and also improve China’s dismal air quality. But that news is coming too late for rapidly disappearing sector pioneer Suntech (NYSE: STP), which has just announced it has formally launched a liquidation process that will end its life as an independent company. Suntech’s downbeat news isn’t really unexpected, and comes amid a much broader flurry of positive signs for a solar panel sector that is finally emerging from a downturn that has lasted nearly 3 years. Read Full Post…
The solar sector’s slow recovery is receiving some new setbacks in the form of lawsuits by 2 bankrupt US companies against Yingli (NYSE: YGE), Trina (NYSE: TSL) and Suntech (NYSE: STP), the last of which is also in bankruptcy reorganization. Adding to the mess, Suntech has just disclosed that more of its European assets have been seized by the Italian courts, throwing yet another new complication into its ongoing reorganization. This growing tide of litigation is somewhat expected, as investors try to recover whatever money they can following the sector’s spectacular crash over the last two years. But such actions will only slow the sector’s broader recovery, and in some cases could remain as troublesome liabilities for companies for years to come. Read Full Post…
China’s solar retrenchment has taken a big step forward with word that a bankruptcy court has chosen Hong Kong-listed Shunfeng Photovoltaic (HKEx: 1165) from a field of bidders vying to invest in reorganizing former solar pioneer Suntech (NYSE: STP). The decision is interesting both because of who the bankruptcy court selected, and also because of who lost the bidding. The selection of Shunfeng looks particularly significant, as it could mark the emergence of a new major player as the battered solar panel sector finally starts to emerge from its 2-year-old downturn. Read Full Post…
As the solar panel sector continues its painful overhaul, signals are emerging about who will survive the downturn and thrive when the industry returns to health. Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) certainly seems to be one of the strongest players coming out of the retrenchment, with word that the company has sold 4 more plants that it constructed to private buyers. Canadian Solar is quickly emerging as a strong executor of this particular strategy, which sees it construct power plants using its own solar cells and then eventually selling those plants to private sector buyers. Rival Suntech (NYSE: STP) also tried such a strategy, but poor execution made it backfire and dragged the company into bankruptcy. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 10. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Lenovo (HKEx: 992) In Talks To Acquire HTC (Taipei: 2498) – Report (English article)
Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) Announces Proposed Offer Of $500 Mln Convertible Notes (PRNewswire)
Solar group offers solution for US-China trade spat
Following a landmark compromise in July that averted a China-EU trade war over solar panels, a major US trade group is offering its own proposal to end a similar spat between the US and China. While I’m no expert on this matter, I do think this latest plan from the US Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) looks quite interesting and promising, both for its content and also because the group has engaged many of the parties involved in both the US and China. Not surprisingly, at least one major voice has already spoken out against the plan, with SolarWorld expressing skepticism about the proposal. Read Full Post…
