China state bail-out

All the indicators are pointing gradually in the right direction as new owner Beijing Energy bids to put a torrid year behind the solar developer and the company has announced its intent to enter the European solar market and explore hydrogen and energy storage.

State-owned solar company Panda Green will miss Friday’s deadline for publishing its audited figures for last year and new owners Beijing Energy have announced the formation of a committee to investigate the payment of $144 million in deposits to secure development rights for projects which never happened.

Bailed-out solar project company Panda Green revealed it did not set any terms for repayment of RMB1 billion paid to third parties in 2017 as deposits to secure potential project rights.

A rebranded Singyes Solar was able to stave off a debt default meltdown last year thanks to a $200 million cash injection from the state but the turnaround appears to have come at a hefty cost in longer-term borrowings and employees.

Investors in debt-saddled PV developer GCL New Energy will have to wait at least another month before a vote on a proposed project sale to a Chinese state-owned entity which would bring benefits of $526 million.

The state-owned electric utility is preparing to acquire seven project companies in China, generating $156 million for the developer and removing a further $385 million of liabilities from its books.

Panda Green today said delays acquiring the necessary approvals were responsible for holding up its critical HK$1.79 billion lifeline but the deadline for completion had originally been put back to coincide with publication of the results of a debt restructuring proposal which ultimately tempted less than a third of note holders.

The indebted developer has been forced to extend the period during which the holders of $350 million of senior notes can decide whether to delay settlement by two years.

The Hong Kong-listed, Chinese state-owned solar developer is in a race against time to settle a US$350 million bond which is due to mature on January 25. The bail-out, which will be put to the vote on December 30, will leave the company a further US$125 million shy.

Now Chinese state-owned, the developer appears to want to draw a line under a traumatic two-year period which saw its fortunes reversed in dramatic fashion. Effectively now part of China’s Shuifa construction conglomerate, the proposed new name is intended to reflect the fact.