Solar panel producer plans move to Malaysia
June 12, 2014 Category Alternative energy, Environment
Comtec Solar Systems has decided to move production from China to Malaysia in anticipation of increasing protectionism in the U.S. and European power markets. Chief Executive John Zhang said that staying clear of China’s crowded market served by low-end products was key to long-term survival. Amid increasing overseas trade protectionism, the company has chosen a strategy to gradually move its production away from eastern China to Malaysia. “The United States is highly likely to impose further trade barriers aimed at Chinese producers this year, we can’t just sit here and hope that it won’t happen,” Zhang said. Comtec had been exporting to its American panel-producer customer Sunpower’s Malaysian plant for some time. “We have been considering producing in Malaysia for over a year because we have a major customer there, but now our main consideration for moving there is to avoid trade barriers in our main markets,” he added. The U.S. imposed steep anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar products in 2012. Similar duties are likely to be slapped this year on Taiwan-made products to close a loophole that allows mainland producers to avoid duties by shifting downstream product processing to Taiwan, Zhang said. Shanghai-based and Hong Kong-listed Comtec has production facilities in Shanghai and Jiangsu province, which can annually make around 550 megawatt (MW) of mono-crystalline silicon solar wafers. Comtec plans to start commissioning 300 MW of capacity in Kuching, east Malaysia, this month, and reach full capacity by the year-end. 100 MW of capacity is moved from China with the rest newly acquired. Comtec’s wafer shipment grew 17.3% last year to 397 MW. It posted a net profit of CNY7.1 million in this year’s first-quarter, but suffered net losses of CNY133 million in the whole of last year.
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