Neo Solar Power Corp. and Gintech Energy Corp. have expressed willingness to hire more than 80 workers laid off by Solartech Energy Corp., in the wake of the latter's recent fire incident.
The two companies offered help, due to their alliance with Solartech, as the trio has signed a letter of intent for merger, with Neo Solar being the surviving company.
At the ceremony for Taiwan Excellent TV award, organized by Bureau of Energy, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Shen Wei-chun, president of Neo Solar, confirmed the move, attributing it to the alliance, adding that the merger is in progress smoothly.
Shen noted that the two companies have no problem absorbing the 80-plus workers, in view of extra manpower needed for their plan to expand capacities for PV cell, system, and module. In addition, working site is not a problem for those workers, as the two companies have plants in Hukou, Chunan, and Hsinchu Science Park, in greater Hsinchu area. The key is the willingness of those workers, according to Shen.
Shen reported that the projected merger is scheduled for completion by Q3 2018, after contract signing in Jan., followed by approval by provisional shareholders' meeting of the three companies and application for anti-monopoly screening with regulators of Taiwan, China, and the U.S. In addition, said Shen, the National Development Council has begun substantive review of the application for NT$4.5 billion equity investment by state fund in Neo Solar following the completion of the merger.
Shen noted that with the advent of winter, the PV industry has entered off-season. He was upbeat about the outlook of the domestic PV market, citing the government's aggressive policy for renewable energy.
(Collaborative media: TechNews, first photo courtesy of public domain CCO)
