Heavily indebted Yingli Solar has confirmed parts of its main Chinese solar panel making division are set to be parceled off to creditors after a court in Hebei province accepted a petition to restructure the business.
A filing made by the OTC Markets Group-listed company to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday revealed the Baoding Municipal Intermediate People’s Court had accepted the petition and appointed a committee to administer a restructuring of the main Yingli Energy (China) Co Ltd business and to negotiate with lenders and other creditors.
A statement released on the Yingli website yesterday stated the core contents of the restructuring plan are “the conversion of a significant portion of the financial debts of Yingli’s major PRC subsidiaries into controlling equity interests in the subsidiaries, full and orderly repayment of parts of financial debts and other payables, and fund injection [from] third-party platforms.”
Against a background of struggling Chinese solar project development companies being bailed out by state-owned entities since last year, and predictions of significant global solar module oversupply next year as vast quantities of production capacity come online, the Yingli statement added: “There is a good chance that strategic investors will soon be introduced to further improve assets and cash position and enhance competitive advantages.”
Yingli said production would continue, warranties maintained and no employees would be affected during the restructuring process.
