Daqo subsidiary prepares for listing on Shanghai Stock Exchange

Daqo New Energy Corp., whose shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: DQ), is taking first steps to float its polysilicon subsidiary Xinjiang Daqo New Energy Co., Ltd. on the Science and Technology Innovation Board (called the STAR Market) of the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) “within the next two years.”

In order to qualify for a STAR Market listing, Xinjiang Daqo is required to have multiple shareholders. On June 5 its parent company announced an agreement to sell 4.4% of Xinjiang Daqo’s shares to Daqo’s CEO Longgen Zhang and three directors of the board for a consideration of RMB199.05 million (approx. US$28.0 million).

The share value is based on a valuation of Xinjiang Daqo’s equity at RMB4.52 billion ($637.0 million) by an unnamed third-party firm.

In contrast to major Chinese PV companies, such as Trina and JA Solar, Daqo is not planning to retreat from the U.S. stock market. “We believe listing on both stock exchanges will raise our profile with investors both at home and abroad and provide us with a greater variety of opportunities in the future,” CEO Zhang explained.

The move will certainly support further capacity expansion.