PV manufacturers and project developers JinkoSolar and Canadian Solar have both submitted their application documents for listings on the ‘STAR market' tech section of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, with the former hoping to bankroll further production capacity with the proceeds.
Jinko wants to list its main business, Jinko Solar Co Ltd, on the exchange in a RMB6 billion (US$929 million) initial public offering (IPO) and devote RMB4 billion of the receipts towards the RMB5.6 billion (US$867 million) cost of a factory in Haining able to produce 7.5 GW of cells per year and/or 5 GW of modules, the company announced yesterday.
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The Chinese business said it would invest RMB500 million (US$77.4 million) towards a RMB750 million R&D center at the site and expected to bank a further RMB1.5 billion from the listing, which will see its stake in the unit diluted from around 73% to almost 55%, and possibly further, in the event of an over-allotment option being exercised beyond the planned 2.67 billion shares issuance.
Jinko has trailed the plans since September.
Sino-Canadian company Canadian Solar had planned the IPO of its CSI Solar Co Ltd manufacturing and Chinese solar project operation for even longer, having announced the plan in July and raised US$260 million towards the costs in the third quarter of last year plus a further US$230 million by issuing convertible bonds.
Canadian, which in November said the Shanghai float would be complete this quarter – giving it until close of play tomorrow to stay on track – was less specific about how much the IPO could be expected to raise and what the proceeds would be spent on.
The company said yesterday: “The proceeds of the offering, which are subject to the actual size and pricing of the offering, will be used to strengthen CSI Solar and the company's market leadership position by investing in capacity expansion across the solar value chain, research and development, and additional working capital for CSI Solar.”
A press release about the IPO added the plan is to issue around 541 million shares, plus any over-allotment, diluting Canadian Solar's holding in the business from around 80% to around 64%.
The Nasdaq-listed company reportedly settled on the Shanghai market after initially also considering the merits of the Shenzhen exchange's ChiNext board and high-profile CEO Shawn Qu has said the China listing will give his company access to cheaper capital.
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