By Belinda Cao | Bloomberg
Chinese solar manufacturers rallied in New York, led by Suntech Power Holdings Co. (STP), on a report that billionaire Warren Buffett may be interested in buying the company forced into bankruptcy after defaulting on debt.
The Bloomberg China-US Equity Index (CH55BN) of the most-traded Chinese companies in the U.S. rose 0.4 percent to 89.44 yesterday. Suntech jumped as much as 28 percent after a news service owned by Hong Kong Economic Times said Buffett’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. may buy the solar panel maker, citing an unidentified person. Trina Solar Ltd. (TSL) surged the most in two months. SouFun Holdings Ltd. (SFUN) slumped a second day.
Suntech, which defaulted on a $541 million bond repayment last month, has lost 18 percent since Chinese banks filed an insolvency petition for its main unit March 20. Tina Potthoff, a spokeswoman for MidAmerican in Des Moines, Iowa, said by e-mail that the company doesn’t comment on speculation. Changzhou-based Trina said that it will post a profit in the second half.
“The rumor Buffett is interested in buying Suntech, and separately, Trina saying they will see profit again in the second half this year” is helping drive gains in solar equities, Gordon Johnson, an analyst at Axiom Capital Management Inc., said by e-mail in New York. “Chinese solar companies would be bankrupt were it not for their ability to roll over existing Chinese debts.”
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