Solar maker Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) is incorporated in Canada, but all operations are based in China. The company has announced that three Chinese banks will kick in a total of $2.2 billion “in potential credit facilities that can be used to finance domestic and overseas solar projects where Canadian Solar is the provider of solar modules.” Canadian Solar may establish a holding company in China to “manage these and other transactions.”
The company also announced a $1.1 million matching fund from the government of Suzhou New District for building new PV solar installations in the district. The funds are available only to Canadian Solar.
It is interesting that the amount of backing that the Chinese government is willing to put into manufacturing is a few orders of magnitude greater than its willingness to invest in domestic projects. China appears to have decided to support domestic PV solar manufacturing in whatever way necessary to keep the industry afloat in the country.
The news has bumped the share price by 4.5% in pre-market trading, to $5.80. The company’s 52-week range is $3.00-$51.80.
Paul Ausick
April 28, 2009