Green Energy Technology Inc (綠能科技), the nation’s top solar silicon wafer maker, yesterday confirmed it would build a new facility in China to meet rising demand.
“We do have plans to expand capacity,” Christine Chen (陳婷婷), an official with the company’s public relations division, said by telephone yesterday.
First
The comment came in the wake of a report by the Chinese-language Economic Daily News that Green Energy would build a new plant in Inner Mongolia, making it the first Taiwanese solar silicon wafer maker to expand across the Strait.
“Market demand is quite strong now. The orders we have received will take up most of our capacity over the next few years,” Chen said, adding that equipment utilization rates were at high levels.
Chen said Green Energy aims to drive growth by inceasing capacity to meet customer demand and securing supply of its key raw material — polysilicon — to support production.
“Electricity rates there [Inner Mongolia] are almost half the price charged in Taiwan and also lower than the rate in the southeastern province of Guangdong. Labor cost is also lower,” Chen said.
Chen declined to give more details about the construction schedule for the new plant and the amount of investment.
“It will take a short time to build the capacity there,” Chen said.
Green Energy can invest as high as NT$1.8 billion (US$59.3 million) in China, or 40 percent of its net assets, in accordance with the law, Chen said.
Approval
The company said earlier this month it would start its investment in China in the second half of the year after obtaining government approval.
Green Energy also said at the time that the board had approved the investment proposal as well as fundraising plans by selling a maximum NT$5 billion in convertible bonds and 5.9 million in new common shares.
The company would use part of the proceeds to build its first Chinese plant, it said.
Green Energy plans to double its capacity to 200 megawatts this year after a new 8.5-generation plant joins production by the end of the year.
The company said early this year that it planned to double capital spending to more than NT$3 billion this year.
Shares of Green Energy rose 1.93 percent to NT$184.50 yesterday, underperforming the benchmark TAIEX, which rose 3.97 percent.
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