Covered at Reason 24/7: China's Solar Bubble Bursts
American solar economy supporters like to point the finger at China solar panel producer Suntech for the industry's troubles. They've flooded the market with cheap, subsidized solar panels, making it impossible for American companies to compete. And that's why all those bankruptcies of American companies (many of them subsidized with taxpayer dollars) happened.
Well, now Suntech has problems of its own.
Agence France-Presse reports:
Chinese solar panel giant Suntech Power announced Monday that it was in default on its debt after failing to make a payment on $541 million worth of bonds.
One of the world's top two solar cell and panel producers, targeted last year by US trade sanctions, Suntech said it had already entered an agreement with 60 percent of the bond holders to hold off legal claims while a debt restructuring can be negotiated.
The non-payment on the bonds triggered cross-default clauses with other lenders, putting Suntech in default on debt to the International Finance Corp. and Chinese domestic lenders.
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