What’s new: Another Hong Kong-traded Chinese solar company is planning to sell stock on the mainland A-shares market.
GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd., a mainland solar power equipment maker, initiated a feasibility study of a listing on a Chinese mainland stock exchange, the company said Wednesday in a regulatory filing. The company said no decision has been made as to whether to proceed with such a flotation, and the company has not applied to regulatory authorities in China.
GCL-Poly has eyed such an equity homecoming since 2017. The company disclosed in December 2017 a plan to spin off its polysilicon, silicon wafer and other photovoltaic material businesses and list them on the A-shares market.
In September, there was market speculation that GCL-Poly planned to spin off its wholly owned subsidiary Jiangsu Zhongneng Polysilicon Technology Development Co. Ltd. and list it domestically. But later the company said there was no such plan.
A spinoff of Jiangsu Zhongneng would hurt the interests of medium and small shareholders, one shareholder told Caixin. Such investors have communicated with the company on the issue, the shareholder said.
GCL-Poly said in the regulatory filing that the homecoming plan would for the purpose of maximizing the interests of all shareholders.
The background: Global photovoltaic supply and sales chains are gradually moving from Europe and North America to China, which has become the world’s largest market for photovoltaic products in terms of production and installation.
While solar stocks are getting lower valuations in Hong Kong and the U.S., Chinese investors are more optimistic about the future of the sector. This has prompted several Hong Kong and U.S.-traded solar companies to tap into the A-shares market, including Trina Solar Co. Ltd. (688599.SH), JA Solar Technology Co. Ltd. (002459.SZ), JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. (688223.SH), Xinjiang Daqo New Energy Co. Ltd. (688303.SH) and Xinte Energy Co. Ltd.
When Trina Solar delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in 2017, it was valued at $1.07 billion. In June 2020 after its first day of trading in Shanghai, it was worth more than $5 billion, and it is now valued at nearly $20 billion.
Contact reporter Denise Jia (huijuanjia@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bob.simison@caixin.com)
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