On the evening of October 20th, JinkoSolar announced its plan to list on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Germany by issuing Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs). If approved, JinkoSolar will become the first Sci Tech Innovation Board company to enter the German capital market through GDR.
In fact, in addition to JinkoSolar Energy, another photovoltaic giant, Sunac Power, has previously disclosed plans to go public in Germany by issuing GDRs.
According to the announcement, JinkoSolar's GDR issuance price will not be lower than 10% of the average closing price of A-shares in the 20 trading days before the pricing benchmark date, and the total amount of funds raised will not exceed RMB 4.5 billion or its equivalent in foreign currency. The funds will mainly be used for the 1GW high-efficiency component project in the United States and the 14GW integrated production base construction project in Shanxi Phase II.
JinkoSolar stated that this GDR issuance will help the company consolidate its leading position in N-type products and enhance its profitability, flexibly respond to international trade barriers, optimize its capital structure, and strengthen its risk resistance capabilities.
According to JinkoSolar's 2024 semi annual report, the company's overseas sales accounted for 65% and overseas revenue accounted for over 70%, ranking ahead among the top photovoltaic companies.
The person in charge of Jingke Energy told Securities Daily reporters, "Overseas, the company has achieved high premium market leading share through its global market capabilities. In the future, it will ensure leading share and price level through more global localization manufacturing and investment layout
The company stated that after the completion of the 1GW high-efficiency component fundraising project in the United States, JinkoSolar's total component production capacity in the United States will reach 3GW. In the strong demand for clean energy installation generated by the wave of artificial intelligence, companies will be able to consolidate stable shipments in the high priced market, while more calmly dealing with trade policy uncertainties, thereby achieving better profit levels.
Another proposed fundraising project for JinkoSolar is the Shanxi Phase II 14GW integrated fundraising project, which was officially announced in May last year. The project will concentrate crystal pulling, slicing, batteries, and components in the same base, effectively reducing labor, logistics, and other costs.
After about two years of deep adjustment, the photovoltaic industry is at the bottom of the cycle, and the industry valuation level is close to historical lows, "said Qi Haiyun, CEO of Jinchen Shares, to a reporter from Securities Daily.
According to a research report by Goldman Sachs, the current downward cycle of the photovoltaic industry is coming to an end and may reach a cyclical bottom in 2025. The sustainability of demand will drive the recovery of capacity utilization in 2025 and beyond. In the long run, under the consensus of global development of green energy and low-carbon economy, photovoltaic power generation, as the cleanest, most economical, and most intelligent form of energy, still has huge room for improvement in penetration rate.
The person in charge of Jingke Energy told reporters, "With the increase in domestic large-scale base projects, as well as the subsequent improvement of ultra-high voltage construction and the enhancement of power grid consumption capacity, domestic demand will be steadily released. Overseas markets will continue to maintain stable growth, while emerging markets such as Southeast Asia and the Middle East have a relatively fast overall growth rate. After solving inventory and power grid consumption problems in Europe, market growth is expected, and demand in the US market needs to be combined with elections and policy implementation. In the long run, local production capacity in markets with high localization requirements is expected to maintain differentiated premiums
Jingke Energy and Sunac Power, as leading companies in the photovoltaic module and inverter sectors, are the first batch of companies to plan to go public in Germany after the acceleration and expansion of GDR issuance in 2022. They are also the first batch of companies to carry out overseas financing after the new GDR regulations in 2023.
Germany is the largest single photovoltaic market in Europe. In April 2024, JinkoSolar delivered over 1.1 million new N-type modules to TheWitznitz Solar Park, one of the largest photovoltaic power plants in Germany. The Frankfurt Stock Exchange is the second largest securities exchange in Europe.
Industry insiders believe that if the company can successfully go public, it will further enhance JinkoSolar's visibility in the German and even European markets, and help the company's overseas business and financing channels develop in a healthy manner.
The industry insider analyzed that by introducing international long-term investors during the industry downturn, JinkoSolar will strengthen its capital reserves, optimize its debt ratio and financing costs, enhance its sustainable development and risk resistance capabilities. As a global market share leader, the company's long-term investment value will also be demonstrated.