Suntech Announces Petition Of Insolvency, Restructuring, & Two New Board Members
For those interested in solar module manufacturing news, and Suntech news in general, here are two notable statements Suntech published today and yesterday:
Suntech Appoints Philip Fan And Weiping Zhou To Board Of Directors
Mr. Zhou Appointed President of Suntech
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP), one of the world’s largest producers of solar panels, today announced it has appointed two new directors to the Company’s Board of Directors effective immediately. Mr. Philip Fanhas been appointed as an independent director and Mr. Weiping Zhou has been appointed as an executive director of the board and President of Suntech. With the new appointments, Suntech’s board of directors now has seven members including four independent directors.
“We are delighted to welcome Mr. Fan and Mr. Zhou to Suntech’s board of directors,” said Ms. Susan Wang, Suntech’s chairwoman. “Mr. Fan brings deep experience across multiple industries and is a seasoned director of publicly listed companies, and Mr. Zhou has broad experience in executive and financial management positions during his time at Guolian Group. We are confident that their knowledge and expertise will be invaluable as we navigate near-term challenges and realize Suntech’s long-term potential in the solar industry.”
Mr. Fan was formerly an executive director and is now an independent non-executive director of Hong Kong Stock Exchange listed China Everbright International Ltd., a developer and operator of multiple waste-to-energy and wastewater treatment plants in China. He also serves as an independent non-executive director at HKC (Holdings), Hysan Development Co., First Pacific Co., Zhuhai Zhongfu Enterprise Co. Ltdand Goodman Group. Prior to that, Mr. Fan was an executive director of CITIC Pacific Ltd in charge of industrial projects in China. Mr. Fan holds a Bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, a Master’s degree in Operations Research from Stanford University and a Master’s degree in Management Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
As President of Suntech, Mr. Zhou will manage business operations and work with Mr. David King, Suntech’s CEO, and the board to define the strategic direction of the Company. Prior to joining Suntech, Mr. Weiping Zhou served as chairman of Guolian Futures Co., Ltd and finance department manager of Guolian Development (Group) Co. Ltd. Prior to that, he held management roles at Guolian Securities andHengda Securities. Mr. Zhou holds a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Hebei College, and an executive MBA from Southeast Universityin China.
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Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. Announces Petition of Insolvency and Restructuring of its Chinese Subsidiary Wuxi Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd.
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP), or the “Company”, today announced that on March 18, 2013, a group of eight Chinese banks filed a petition for insolvency and restructuring of its Chinese subsidiary Wuxi Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (“Wuxi Suntech”) in the Wuxi Municipal Intermediate People’s Court in Jiangsu Province, China. Wuxi Suntech today notified the Court that it will not file an objection against the petition. The Company expects that the Court will decide whether or not to accept the petition in the next few days.
Wuxi Suntech is the Company’s principal operating subsidiary in China engaged in the manufacture of photovoltaic (PV) cells and PV modules. The Company has additional cell and module production facilities at wholly owned or partially owned subsidiaries in Wuxi,Shanghai and Luoyang and, in the event insolvency and restructuring of Wuxi Suntech is approved by the Court, the Company intends to continue production of solar products to meet customer orders. In addition, management will work with any Court-appointed administrators to ensure all of Suntech’s product warranty obligations are met.
“While we evaluate restructuring initiatives and strategic alternatives, we are committed to continuing to provide high-quality solar products to our global customer base,” said David King, Suntech’s CEO. “During this period, we will continue to work closely with all of our stakeholders and take the necessary steps to put Suntech back on track for growth.”
The insolvency and restructuring procedure is designed to facilitate an orderly restructuring plan for both Wuxi Suntech and its creditors. In such proceedings, the Chinese court would typically appoint administrators to Wuxi Suntech to administer the restructuring, including negotiations with existing bank lenders and other creditors. Wuxi Suntech will apply to the Court to continue operations under the supervision of the administrators.
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd., the ultimate parent company of Wuxi Suntech, has not commenced insolvency proceedings, nor have any of the Company’s other principal operating subsidiaries. The Company is not aware of any similar proceedings regarding any of its other entities.
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