Chinese solar farm operator seeks to resolve bond defaults as end of subsidies casts shadow over industry
- The Hong Kong-listed company has defaulted on loans totalling US$142 million
- Fitch Ratings says that Chinese solar firms are under significant pressure from delayed subsidy payments and falling value of solar farms
China Singyes Solar Technologies Holdings, once the mainland’s leading solar developer, is seeking to resolve bond repayments worth 967 million yuan (US$142 million) it had defaulted on in October.
The Hong Kong-listed company, focusing on operating solar farms and building solar curtain walls, had defaulted on 202 million yuan of offshore loans and 765 million yuan of onshores loans at the end of October, it said in a stock exchange filing on Thursday.
Singyes Solar said it has been in close discussions with the onshore lenders, suppliers and local governments to resolve the situation.
“Given the group’s financial difficulties and the loan defaults, it is uncertain whether the group has sufficient working capital to maintain its business operations,” the company said.
The company said onshore lenders did not demand immediate repayment of the loans and were open to extending payment schedules.
It had slashed round the clock operating hours at two of its factories to as little as eight hours, it said.
The financing difficulty faced by Singyes Solar, based in the southern city of Zhuhai, points to a clouded outlook amid policy shifts for China’s solar industry, which leads the world in solar energy capacity and output.