Economic Observer Online
By Wan Xiaoxiao (万晓晓)
Mar 20, 2013
Translated by Zhu Na
Original article: [Chinese]

Suntech Power Holdings Co., the troubled Chinese solar manufacturer that defaulted on repayment of a $541 million bond that fell due on March 15, has appointed two new directors to the company's board.

The addition of the two new board members is an indication that the company has now embarked on a fundamental overhaul, led by it's state-owned investors.

The 21st Century Business Herald also reported that domestic banks that purchased Suntech bonds will soon launch legal action, which is likely to be the first step toward the initiation of bankruptcy procedures. The same report cites a source from inside the PV industry as saying that once the company launches a bankruptcy plan, Wuyi Guolian will try to seek a majority stake in the company by exchanging debt for stocks. It's still unclear whether this will be enough to make Wuyi Guolian the majority shareholder.

The New York-listed company announced that Weiping Zhou (周卫平), a senior executive from a state-owned investment company controlled by the Wuxi city government, has been appointed to the board of directors and made president of the company. Philip Fan (范仁鹤), a former executive board member of the Hong Kong-listed China Everbright International, was also made an independent board member of the company.

Zhou Weiping will be in charge of the company's operation and management, and jointly decide the strategic direction of the company with Suntech's CEO David King (金纬).

Suntech's board now has seven members, including four independent directors.

Zhou was previously chairman of Wuxi Guolian Futures Co. and the former finance department manager of the state-owned Wuxi Guolian Development Group.

Suntech's manufacturing and administrative headquarters are located in the city of Wuxi, which is in  the coastal province of Jiangsu, directly north of Shanghai.

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