Markets

The slump in renewable energy shares appears to be ending with bidders from China and South Korea are displaying strong interest German solar manufacturer Q-Cells and A123 Systems, a US lithium-ion battery systems maker. Bloomberg reported that China’s Wanxiang Group confirmed it would invest as much as USD465 million in A123 last Thursday, two hours after Q-Cells confirmed it was in talks to sell assets to Seoul-based Hanwha Chemical Corp, the parent company of Hanwha SolarOne.

Indian cleantech developer, Greenko has raised £5 million (USD7.8 million) through an equity selling exercise.

A second nuclear power company in China is planning a stock market flotation. China Nuclear Engineering Corporation Ltd, a subsidiary of state-owned China Nuclear Engineering Group, is planning to apply to the China Securities Regulatory Commission later this year.The company has take the first step by filing an application with the Beijing municipal securities authority, the 21st Century Business Herald reported.

China-based solar panel manufacturer Suntech is being sued by two US investor groups that allege the company failed to disclose a EUD560m (USD687m) bond pledge.

Chinese solar wafer firm, LDK Solar Company, yesterday reported a massive loss of 1.08 billion yuan (USD169 million) for the first half of 2012.

Embattled Suntech Power Holdings may be forced to look to China to raise the USD541 million it needs to pay its debt obligations and remain a going concern as international investors turn away from the world’s largest solar panel manufacturer.

Insider-trading allegations have been made against big-name Hong Kong and Chinese businessmen over the USD15 billion CNOCC/Nexen deal.

Institutional investors concerned about climate change have retained, and in many cases, boosted their commitment to addressing the issue despite wider economic and financial challenges and continuing policy uncertainty according to a new report. Jointly published by three institutional investor forums covering Europe, North America and Australia/New Zealand, the 2011 Global Investor Survey on Climate Change says more progress is needed in translating climate-related investment policies, research and risk assessments into investment decisions that reduce climate risks to portfolios and seek to capture climate-driven investment opportunities.

The Indonesian government has identified 23 existing geothermal power plant projects, with a total combined capacity of 2,114-MW, that are at risk of being halted because they are no longer feasible, according to the Jakarta Post.