Top solar panel maker goes bankrupt

[Karee 4,190]

(CNN) -- Suntech Power Holdings, which was until recently the world's largest producer of solar panels, has said its main subsidiary in China is bankrupt, in a further stark illustration of the declining fortunes of the global solar industry.

Suntech's Wuxi subsidiary is the first big Chinese solar group to declare insolvency and the world's biggest such bankruptcy, following a string of failed western solar companies including Q-Cells in Germany and Solyndra in the US.

"What the Suntech case shows us is that the Chinese companies are not too big to fail," said Jenny Chase, head of solar analysis at Bloomberg New Energy Finance. "We are entering a period of great difficulty for Chinese solar manufacturers."

Turning to solar energy in Middle East China is the world's biggest producer of solar panels, but the sector is suffering from overcapacity after rapid expansion fuelled by cheap loans and preferential government policies. US-listed Suntech was the posterchild of the country's swift entry into, and then dominance of, the market.

The solar suitcase It announced on Wednesday that eight Chinese banks had filed a petition for insolvency and restructuring of Wuxi Suntech in a court in Jiangsu province. The bankruptcy is a milestone because, until now, China's larger struggling solar companies have been kept afloat by cheap credit and indirect state support.

Suntech defaulted last week on a $541m convertible bond issued by its Cayman Islands subsidiary, which triggered cross-defaults on other loans outstanding. According to the company's most recent reports, Suntech's net debt stood at $1.6bn at the end of March 2012.

The case is set to be a big test of China's new bankruptcy law, which came into effect in 2007 but has rarely been applied to overseas-listed companies with assets in China. It will be complicated by the fact that neither the US-listed entity, Suntech Power Holdings, nor any subsidiaries other than Wuxi are declaring insolvency.

"It's going to be a test of what, exactly, do the US entities and the Cayman entities really own?" said one Singapore-based analyst who asked not to be named.

Under Chinese law, the courts will have six months to come up with a restructuring plan that is then presented to creditors, with the possibility of an additional three-month extension.

Bankruptcy specialist Han Chuanhua, a partner at the Zhongzi Law Office in Beijing, said: "It is rare for such a big company to get into bankruptcy proceedings, even though many companies cannot pay off their debts." He cited local government bailouts, and creditor reluctance, as two main reasons why insolvent Chinese companies avoid bankruptcy.

The government of Wuxi, the city where Suntech is headquartered, has come to Suntech's aid in the past -- and appears to be taking an even more active role in the company with the appointment earlier this week of a new president, Zhou Weiping, who previously worked for the government-backed Wuxi Guolian Development Co.

Mr Han said the co-ordinated action of the eight banks suggested the local government had given its blessing to the proceedings. "Without government support, even if creditors file a petition, the court wouldn't accept it," he explained.

David King, Suntech's chief executive, said: "While we evaluate restructuring initiatives and strategic alternatives, we are committed to continuing to provide high-quality solar products to our global customer base."

Source:

http://edition.cnn.c....html?hpt=hp_t4

Edited March 21, 2013 by Karee

[Danno 1,228]

This is one more reason why this economy has floundered as long as it has.

Obama said in 08 that "green energy" will bring our economy back, that it was going to unleash a new age like the industrial age.

He could not have been more wrong when he wasted valuable time and resources chasing a Green-dream whose time is clearly not here.

Obama was wrong on some of the most fundamental, easy to get right things such as understanding -Why we hold people in Gitmo... which is why despite his solemn promises, he never kept his promise on that.

And the Left, who was so troubled by Gitmo..... suddenly shut-up about it, post 08.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

Obama was wrong on some of the most fundamental, easy to get right things such as understanding -Why we hold people in Gitmo... which is why despite his solemn promises, he never kept his promise on that.

And the Left, who was so troubled by Gitmo..... suddenly shut-up about it, post 08.

Um. You know that CONGRESS blocked Obama from closing Gitmo, right? He tried. More than once. This isn't a one man show.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/dec/8/congress-deals-death-blow-gitmo-closure/?page=all

[Danno 1,228]

Um. You know that CONGRESS blocked Obama from closing Gitmo, right? He tried. More than once. This isn't a one man show.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/dec/8/congress-deals-death-blow-gitmo-closure/?page=all

Tell us what efforts Obama is making for this cause, I mean we know he is using executive powers and the Justice dept to run guns, block Doma and anything else he feels strongly about.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

Tell us what efforts Obama is making for this cause, I mean we know he is using executive powers and the Justice dept to run guns, block Doma and anything else he feels strongly about.

"Anything else he feels strongly about"? Really? Obama is just using executive powers all over the damn place!

[Danno 1,228]

"Anything else he feels strongly about"? Really? Obama is just using executive powers all over the damn place!

Thanks for the laugh now tell us what he is doing about it?

Must I post the clips of him saying "I WILL CLOSE" gitmo, not "I will try"?

[Penny Lane 8,159]

Thanks for the laugh now tell us what he is doing about it?

Must I post the clips of him saying "I WILL CLOSE" gitmo, not "I will try"?

Go ahead. It won't change the fact that Congress blocked him every step of the way.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Go ahead. It won't change the fact that Congress blocked him every step of the way.

You and your god damn reality. Doesn't work for Danno. He did a reality check. It bounced.

[Danno 1,228]

Go ahead. It won't change the fact that Congress blocked him every step of the way.

Your missing the Point (again) how daft could he be to promise that he would do something if it was not in his control?

He claimed "he" would do it... not try, not "do his part", it was a -Done deal, if he were elected.

That actually worked for the better, but the drag he has put on the economy ... the lives and savings he harmed by wasting time on a "green revolution" is monumental.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Your missing the Point (again) how daft could he be to promise that he would do something if it was not in his control?

He claimed "he" would do it... not try, not "do his part", it was a -Done deal, if he were elected.

That actually worked for the better, but the drag he has put on the economy ... the lives and savings he harmed by wasting time on a "green revolution" is monumental.

Lives and savings he harmed? Have you looked at the markets lately? My savings are doing pretty damn good. Better than they did over the course of the 8 years preceding the Obama administration. A lot better.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

Your missing the Point (again) how daft could he be to promise that he would do something if it was not in his control?

He claimed "he" would do it... not try, not "do his part", it was a -Done deal, if he were elected.

That actually worked for the better, but the drag he has put on the economy ... the lives and savings he harmed by wasting time on a "green revolution" is monumental.

I'm not missing anything. You are continuing to ignore how things actually are, and instead, choose to respond to how you think they are. You're convinced, in your mind, that everything is the way you see it. Despite plenty of people telling you otherwise. It takes dedication, I'll give you that.

[Darnell 8,478]

Well, at some point, someone's gonna find the bribes paid and no longer wonder why they be 1.6b in debt.

[Karee 4,190]

Go ahead. It won't change the fact that Congress blocked him every step of the way.

Didn't Obama's party control both houses of congress for two years after he was elected?

[Danno 1,228]

Lives and savings he harmed? Have you looked at the markets lately? My savings are doing pretty damn good. Better than they did over the course of the 8 years preceding the Obama administration. A lot better.

How much Money does the average Black family have in "The market"?

JUst because you and your buds are seeing market gains, don't forget, lots of people lost jobs houses and years due to this economy and I don't blame it all on Obama but he only made it worse.

Even his advisors have lost faith in him.

Now we are like the patient with an infection, though we hired a doctor to help us, our infection will have to run it's course.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

How much Money does the average Black family have in "The market"?

JUst because you and your buds are seeing market gains, don't forget, lots of people lost jobs houses and years due to this economy and I don't blame it all on Obama but he only made it worse.

Even his advisors have lost faith in him.

Now we are like the patient with an infection, though we hired a doctor to help us, our infection will have to run it's course.

I'm sorry, what does the black family have to do with this discussion?