Friday, January 9, 2009

Chinese Government Offers Money to Speed Up Solar Consolidation?

From Greenlight:

There are too many silicon wafer makers in China, and the government isn’t waiting for natural market forces to trim the flock.

That’s the gist of a Friday post from the Taiwanese news site DigiTimes, which reported that the Chinese government plans to give 2 billion yuan ($291 million) to “each of the leading makers to facilitate such mergers.”

The brief post cited unnamed sources and didn’t explain what qualifies a company to be considered a “leading maker” of silicon wafers. The wafers are used to make solar cells, which are then assembled into panels that you see on rooftops today.

Apparently, the Chinese government isn’t satisfied with providing money only. It wants to offer business strategies as well. If the so-called medium or small silicon wafer makers want to remain independent, then they should still let those “leading makers arrange their production and shipments,” according to the DigiTimes....MORE

From China Analyst:

This table ranks 21 Solar stocks based on market cap, and lists key data.