Solar cell maker Gintech Energy Corp (昱晶) yesterday announced a strategic partnership with Green Energy Technology Inc (綠能), the nation’s top solar wafer maker.
Gintech is to subscribe to new shares issued by Apollo Solar Energy Co (ASEC, 知光) — a solar module manufacturer owned by Green Energy — and take a 36 percent stake in ASEC. Green Energy and its parent company, household appliance maker Tatung Co (大同), will hold a combined 45 percent share of ASEC.
With the partnership, “Gintech will have a solid support of high-efficiency wafers from Green Energy to make high-efficiency solar cells,” Gintech president Pan Wen-whe (潘文輝) said.
The two companies did not disclose financial details of their agreement, but TrendForce Corp (集邦) researcher Arthur Hsu (胥嘉政) said the partnership would be a “win-win” situation for both.
“The collaboration will help drive down costs in the short term and boost product competitiveness,” Hsu said in a telephone interview. “They are targeting the US market.”
Taiwanese firms are likely to see more orders from Chinese solar firms if the US decides to impose a higher punitive import tax on Chinese solar companies than Taiwanese ones next month, he said.
The US Department of Commerce is scheduled to issue a preliminary ruling on anti-dumping duties against Chinese and Taiwanese producers on July 25.
The US is the world’s third-largest solar market.
Once the partnership deal goes through, ASEC will be renamed Gintung Energy Corp (同昱) and plans to boost its annual capacity by about 88 percent to 320 megawatts in the fourth quarter of this year, from the current 170 megawatts, the companies said in a statement.
Green Energy is to provide its management know-how and technology to Gintech’s solar wafer subsidiary Utech Solar Corp (昱成), helping increase its production of high-efficient solar wafers.
However, the uncertainties about trade disputes between China and the US and Europe, as well as the supply-and-demand issue, are continuing to hurt sentiment about the global solar energy market, with prices of solar modules falling 1.67 percent to US$0.588 per watt this week from last week and polysilicon solar wafer dropping 0.51 percent to US$0.981 per unit, according to TrendForce’s latest information.
Shares of Gintech plunged 3.07 percent and Green Energy plummeted 3.47 percent in Taipei trading yesterday, compared with the TAIEX’s rise of 0.43 percent.
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