GCL-Poly and Canadian Solar Announce a New Joint-Venture Mode to Build Wafer Plant
(Hong Kong, 31 May 2011) Suzhou GCL Photovoltaic Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Limited (“GCL-Poly”, the “Company” or the “Group”; stock code: 3800.HK), and Canadian Solar Inc. (“Canadian Solar”, NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world’s largest solar companies, today announced a major solar joint-venture to build a 600 MW capacity wafer plant in Suzhou dedicated to Canadian Solar’s requirements.The initial 600 MW plant can be expanded to 1.2 GW.
The total capital expenditure for the first phase of the project is approximately US$77 million, which is expected to be financed 33.3% through the registered capital and 66.7% through debt. Under the terms of the agreement, GCL-Poly will contribute 90% of the registered equity, and Canadian Solar will contribute 10%. This joint-venture opens up a new mode of strategic cooperation between GCL-Poly and its downstream customers.
Mr. Gongshan Zhu, Chairman and CEO of GCL-Poly said, “We are very pleased to partner with Canadian Solar on a long-term basis.This partnership with Canadian Solar, one of the industry’s most innovative leaders worldwide, is central to our ability to strategically expand our manufacturing capacity and to reach our growth targets. We have worked together for three years now, sharing commitments to both high-quality products and customer service. Our teams boast industry leading technical expertise, customer support and sales acumen. Our respect for each other will help us achieve further success on this expanded scale.”
Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar said, “This is a major strategic development for Canadian Solar, GCL-Poly and the broader solar industry. In GCL-Poly, we gain a valued long-term partner, with essential large scale manufacturing expertise.Importantly, by securing high-quality wafers we can support the increased demand levels for our high-quality solar module products which we are seeing from customers in solar markets worldwide. We look forward to a successful cooperation with GCL-Poly in the years ahead.”
