China Tianwei plans rights issue for solar projects

SHANGHAI, June 4 (Reuters) - China's Baoding Tianwei Baobian Electric Co Ltd said on Wednesday it plans to issue new stock to shareholders to raise funds for 3.2 billion yuan ($462 million) in solar energy projects and other business requirements.

The company plans to issue up to 210 million additional shares, or up to 1.8 shares for each 10 held, to fund a solar energy panel project, two polysilicon production lines, repayment of bonds and improvement of its cash position.
It added that if the rights issue does not raise enough funds to meet the 3.2 billion yuan requirement, it would secure the remainder from its own funds or bank loans.

It said the offer price for the shares would be determined based on net assets per-share in the most recent results report. The company reported net assets per share of 4.19 yuan in the result for the first quarter.

The company's shares ended at 39.34 yuan on Tuesday. They have risen about 10 percent this year, compared with a one-third drop in Shanghai's benchmark index .SSEC.

3,000 tons polysilicon project started in Xinjin, Chengdu

December 29th 2007 the Tianwei Sichuan Polysilicon broke ground for the 3,000 tons polysilicon project, and the total investment is about 2.7 billion RMB, and the project will be completed in 2010.

The biggest share holder of Tianwei Sichuan Polysilicon is Tianwei Baobian, and Tianwei Baobian plans to start another 3,000 tons polysilicon project in 2008 in Leshan, Sichuan.

Chinese firms mull silicon JV for solar production

SHANGHAI, Nov 28 (Reuters) - China's Baoding Tianwei Baobian Electric Co Ltd said on Wednesday it plans to jointly invest in projects worth a combined 4.9 billion yuan ($663.4 million) to make polysilicon products used in solar energy equipment.

Under a tentative plan, Tianwei Baobian plans to build two plants, each with an annual capacity of 3,000 tonnes, in the southwestern province of Sichuan, it said in a statement.

China is encouraging solar power production as part of efforts to boost renewable energy and cut its dependence on coal to fuel its booming economy.

Some Chinese solar companies such as Suntech Power Co and JA Solar Holdings Co Ltd have listed shares in the overseas stock markets. But tight silicon supplies have hampered panel production from small solar companies.

Tianwei plans to have a 51 percent stake in one of the polysilicon projects, with Sichuan Minjiang Hydropower Co Ltd taking a 14 percent stake and the Sichuan Provincial Investment Corp having the remaining 35 percent, the statement said.

In the other polysilicon project, Tianwei plans to take a 49 percent stake and another Sichuan-based company -- Leshan Electric Power Co Ltd -- plans to have a 51 percent interest, it said.
The projects require regulatory approval, it added.

Leshan Electric and Minjiang Hydropower issued similar statements about the silicon projects on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Charlie Zhu; Editing by Kim Coghill)