Hanergy Thin Film set to lose crucial hydropower project stakes – which could be auctioned off to Hanergy Mobile Energy

With Chinese solar manufacturer Hanergy Thin Film reportedly about to see its controlling stake in a profitable 3 GW hydropower project auctioned off due to a court ruling, parent company Hanergy Mobile Energy has told pv magazine it will be among the bidders.

With Hanergy Thin Film owner Li Hejun having invested around $3 billion over nine years into the Jinanqiao Hydropower Station, the project was widely regarded as the cash cow financing the activity of controversial Hong Kong-listed thin film manufacturer Hanergy.

Shares in Hanergy Thin Film were suspended in May 2015 after it emerged the company’s soaring valuation was largely down to complex trading among its own affiliates. That revelation prompted a swift collapse in Hanergy Thin Film’s stock price and the company de-listed from the Hong Kong exchange this year after independent shareholders agreed to move their stock into a special purpose vehicle (SPV) with the aim of transferring their holding into a company that would try to list on China’s A-share exchange.

The SPV selected was an affiliate of parent company Hanergy Mobile Energy Holding Group.

When asked about the compulsory sale of Hanergy Thin Film’s controlling stake in the hydropower project, the Hanergy Mobile Energy Holding Group which is also owned by Li told pv magazine it was a separate entity from the Hong Kong-listed business and intended to be among the bidders.

An announcement made by the Beijing Third Intermediate People’s Court confirmed Hanergy Thin Film’s separate 40.48% and 10.88% mortgaged holdings in the hydropower project would be auctioned off within a month. The development came after two Hanergy Thin Film creditors applied for action to enforce a court ruling against the thin film manufacturer.