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Eighty-Eight Percent of Greater China Solar Panel Suppliers Set to Lower or Stabilize Prices -- Global Sources' Survey

Posted on: Friday, 23 November 2007, 03:00 CST

HONG KONG, Nov. 23 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Despite higher polysilicon prices, most Greater China solar panel manufacturers say they plan to lower or keep prices steady to win market share. This is according to Global Sources' China Sourcing Report: Solar Panels ( http://www.chinasourcingreports.com/ ).

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030303/LNM011LOGO-b )

The Report shows 88 percent of suppliers plan to decrease or keep prices stable, while only 12 percent plan to increase prices.

"With the polysilicon shortage expected to continue until 2009, most manufacturers are implementing measures to streamline production," said Report publisher, Spenser Au. "These include expanding to gain economies of scale, backward integration and R&D to produce thinner solar cells that require less polysilicon."

Among respondents' plans to lower production costs: -- 28 percent are looking for ways to reduce waste; -- 27 percent are increasing automation; and -- 25 percent are upgrading management systems.

The remaining 20 percent say they plan to focus on vertical integration and decreasing defects to improve manufacturing efficiency.

Greater China Solar Panel Exporters Facing Challenges

Au said: "Manufacturers are generally optimistic, with 97 percent expecting exports to increase over the next 12 months. However, with excess capacity in the high double-digits, a larger number of suppliers are reducing prices to gain orders."

Among surveyed suppliers' primary concerns for the next 12 months: -- 60 percent cited price competition; -- 25 percent said raw material costs; -- 7 percent indicated stricter overseas standards; -- 5 percent cited design copying; and -- 3 percent indicated labor shortages. In-Factory Interviews, Price Forecasts and New Solar Panel Export Models

The 98-page China Sourcing Report: Solar Panels provides detailed profiles of 60 suppliers with verified manufacturing and export credentials. It includes a Product Gallery featuring 86 of the most popular export models, with key specifications and full-color pictures.

The Report's surveys, price trends and supply forecasts help buyers make better-informed purchasing decisions.

Specialized Global Sources Websites, Trade Shows, Magazines and Research Reports

China Sourcing Reports ( http://www.chinasourcingreports.com/ ) are part of Global Sources' sourcing and product information services. These include Global Sources Online ( http://www.globalsources.com/ ), Global Sources Trade Magazines, Global Sources Direct ( http://www.globalsourcesdirect.com/ ) and the China Sourcing Fairs ( http://www.chinasourcingfair.com/ ). For more information, visit http://www.corporate.globalsources.com/ .

The China Sourcing Report: Solar Panels is available for purchase at http://www.chinasourcingreports.com/solarpanels07 .

Information about Greater China solar panel suppliers and products can be found at http://www.chinasuppliers.globalsources.com/china-suppliers/Solar-Panels.htm .

About Global Sources

Global Sources is a leading business-to-business (B2B) media company and a primary facilitator of two-way trade with Greater China. The core business is facilitating trade from Greater China to the world, using a wide range of English-language media. The other key business segment facilitates trade from the world to Greater China using Chinese-language media.

The company provides sourcing information to volume buyers and integrated marketing services to suppliers. It helps a community of over 647,000 active buyers source more profitably from complex overseas supply markets. With the goal of providing the most effective ways possible to advertise, market and sell, Global Sources enables suppliers to sell to hard-to-reach buyers in over 230 countries.

The company offers the most extensive range of media and export marketing services in the industries it serves. It delivers information on 2 million products and more than 160,000 suppliers annually through 14 online marketplaces, 13 monthly magazines, over 100 sourcing research reports and nine specialized trade shows which run 22 times a year across seven cities.

Suppliers receive more than 23 million sales leads annually from buyers through Global Sources Online ( http://www.globalsources.com/ ) alone.

Global Sources has been facilitating global trade for 36 years. In mainland China it has over 2,000 team members in 44 locations, and a community of over 1 million registered online users and magazine readers for Chinese-language media.

Global Sources Press Contact in Asia: Camellia So Tel: +852-2555-5021 Email: cso@globalsources.com Global Sources Investor Contact in Asia: Eddie Heng Tel: +65-6547-2850 Email: eheng@globalsources.com Global Sources Press Contact in U.S.: James W.W. Strachan Tel: +1-480-664-8309 Email: strachan@globalsources.com Global Sources Investor Contact in U.S.: Moriah Shilton & Christiane Pelz Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates, Inc. Tel: +1-415-433-3777 Email: cpelz@lhai.com

Photo: Newscom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030303/LNM011LOGO-bPR Newswire Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Global Sources

CONTACT: Press contact in Asia: Camellia So, +852-2555-5021,cso@globalsources.com; Press contact in U.S.: James W.W. Strachan of GlobalSources, +1-480-664-8309, strachan@globalsources.com; Investor contact in Asia:Eddie Heng of Global Sources, +65-6547-2850, eheng@globalsources.com; InvestorContact in U.S.: Moriah Shilton or Christiane Pelz, cpelz@lhai.com, both ofLippert-Heilshorn & Associates, Inc., +1-415-433-3777, for Global Sources

Web site: http://www.globalsources.com/http://www.chinasourcingreports.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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