In the South China Morning Post today, you have all the information you need on the Malta government’s plans for assembling Chinese solar panels in Malta
Shiv Nair, consultant and adviser to Malta Enterprise, Konrad Mizzi and the Prime Minister, is known by oil industry intelligence to be a consultant and adviser to Poly Energy.
GCL-POLY ENERGY MULLS OFFSHORE MOVE TO ESCAPE EU DUTIES ON SOLAR PRODUCTS
– Company may partner with mainland customers, move production overseas
Saturday, 01 June, 2013, 4:19am
Eric Ng eric.mpng@scmp.com
GCL-Poly Energy Holdings, the world’s largest maker of polysilicon, may partner with mainland firms to establish offshore plants and circumvent potential European Union anti-dumping duties.
“We do not rule out forming strategic alliances with our downstream customers to set up overseas production capacities so as to keep up our sales,” executive president Shu Hua said after the Jiangsu province-based firm’s annual general meeting of shareholders.
The company, which also makes solar wafers, sells its products to makers of solar cells, which are then packaged into panels.
Brussels plans to impose punitive import duties averaging 47 per cent on mainland wafers, cells and panels. Germany, Britain, the Netherlands and at least 12 other members of the 27-nation EU are against the duties for fear of reprisals from Beijing and a potential loss of business, according to a Reuters survey. A decision on the duties is expected on Thursday.
The US Department of Commerce in October imposed anti-dumping duties averaging 25.96 per cent and anti-subsidy levies averaging 15.24 per cent on mainland solar cells.
That left a loophole for mainland firms – outsourcing the process of turning wafers into cells to places like Taiwan, which are not affected by the tariffs.
GCL-Poly said some 25 per cent of its wafer sales are now destined for Taiwan and Southeast Asia, with the rest to mainland customers.
GCL-Poly posted a net loss of HK$3.52 billion last year, compared to a profit of HK$4.27 billion in 2011, amid industry over-capacity and a marked slow-down in sales growth. Sales were affected by a reduction in subsidies that sovereign debt-troubled European Union member states would pay. The EU was the world’s largest solar panel market last year.
Shu said profit margins this year had improved compared with last year’s fourth quarter. The firm was expected to remain loss-making this year, to the tune of 480 million yuan (HK$607 million), according to the average estimate of 25 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
Despite the industry downturn that has forced some peers into bankruptcy, Shu said GCL-Poly had not missed any of its loan repayment obligations. The firm cut its managers’ salaries 30 per cent to 50 per cent last year.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as GCL-Poly mulls move to escape EU duties.
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http://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1250936/gcl-poly-energy-mulls-offshore-move-escape-eu-duties-solar
Now read the comments-board beneath this piece on The New York Times site:
Poly Energy is, we understand, being advised by Shiv Shankaran Nair, a reclusive Maltese millionaire and deal maker, who has thrived on front ending transactions for Chinese State Companies in Africa.
Nair who counts The Barzanis, who run Kurdistan almost as a personal fiefdom, as his personal friends , has been shuttling between Kurdistan, Beijing and Ankara on behalf of his Chinese client, trying to persuade the Kurds to allow a 100 % Chinese takeover of their biggest field.
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/09/07/haywards-vallares-to-buy-genel-energy-in-2-1-billion-deal/?ref=business&_r=0
“The firm cut its managers’ salaries 30 per cent to 50 per cent last year.”
Loved that.
“Xoghol ta’ kwalita.” Rowtmepp tal-Muviment, 2013.
On a related note.
Based on unofficial information from the Maltese government, the Chinese government will be buying around 35% of Enemalta.
Meanwhile, Enemalta is in the process of procuring an interconnector cable between Malta and Sicily for a cost of around Euro 200 million.
Based on information from EU website below, the EU will be financing around euro 20 million of the interconnector project through a grant.
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/eepr/projects/files/electricity-interconnectors/mt-it_en.pdf
Which means that the 35% shareholder of Enemalta will benefit from a Euro 7 million grant from the EU (35% of Euro 20 million).
Isn’t the EU effectively subsidising the government of China?
What does the EU have to say about this?
These must be the manufacturing jobs Muscat said Malta should offer as a future to its golden youth.
Yip, Soleil must be thrilled to have such a bright future assembling solar panels.
Those Chinese solar panels will be harvesting the energy from the suns (the soleils) and the stars (the etoils) for eternity.
Instead of our Government playing a proactive role in SOLAR-ERA.NET (a network that brings together more than 20 RTDi programmes in solar electricity technologies in the European Research Area), we are about to became the dumping ground of Chinese solar panels allowing them access to the European market.
Joseph u t-team socjalista tieghu baqaw imwahhla bil-legacy Mintoffjana. Dan xoghol li jisfrutta l-haddiem u jnezzaw mid-dinjita. Ser nergghu lura ghal fabriki tac-cinizi ta zmien Mintoff.
I am sure Joseph Muscat wasn’t much concerned with the sharks at the opening of the National Aquarium but he must be very careful with the sharks that surround him at Castille.