LDK Solar Co

LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE|LDK), located in Xinyu City, Jiangxi province in the People's Republic of China, manufactures multicrystalline solar wafers used in solar cells. Additionally, LDK provides wafering services for both monocrystalline and multicrystalline wafers to companies who provide their own ingot stock. [NYSE Listed Company Directory, Symbol: [http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/ldk.html LDK] ] LDK's principal customers have included CSI, Chinalight Solar Co., Ltd., Solarfun Power Holdings Co., Ltd., Solartech Energy Corp., Solland Solar Energy B.V., and Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. The Company has sold wafers to Chinalight primarily pursuant to short-term sales contracts, and monthly and quarterly purchase orders.cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=LDK Full Description | date= | publisher=reuters.com | url =http://stocks.us.reuters.com/stocks/fullDescription.asp?symbol=LDK.N | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2008-02-24 | language = English ]

Founder

Xiaofeng Peng (born c.1975) founded LDK Solar (nicknamed Light) in July 2005 and is its chairman and chief executive officer. Mr. Peng first founded Suzhou Liouxin in March 1997, and was its chief executive officer until February 2006.cite web |title=Board of Directors |url=http://www.ldksolar.com/Board%20of%20Directors.html | accessdate=2008-09-03] Suzhou Liouxin manufactured personal protective equipment products like gloves and employed 12,000. He considered adding solar cell wafers to its product line when he realized that no Chinese company was producing them. In 2005, Peng invested $30 million of his own money and $80 million of venture financing into building factories.cite web |title=Asia's Youngest Billionaires |url=http://www.forbes.com/2008/09/03/asia-billionaires-wealth-biz-billies_cx_af_0903youngasiabillies_slide_4.html | accessdate=2008-09-03]

Mr. Peng graduated from Jiangxi Foreign Trade School in 1993 with a diploma in international business and from Beijing University Guanghua School of Management with an executive MBA degree in 2002.cite web |title=Board of Directors |url=http://www.ldksolar.com/Board%20of%20Directors.html | accessdate=2008-09-03] His net worth was $2.5 billion in 2008.cite web |title=Asia's Youngest Billionaires |url=http://www.forbes.com/2008/09/03/asia-billionaires-wealth-biz-billies_cx_af_0903youngasiabillies_slide_4.html | accessdate=2008-09-03]

Capacity

LDK has stated a capacity of 580 MW as of March 31, 2008, with plans to expand to 1.1 GW by the end of 2008. In 2009, the company plans to have 2 GW in production. cite web| publisher=LDK Solar Co., Ltd |url=http://www.ldksolar.com/Capacity.html |title=Capacity |accessdate=2008-02-24 ]

Polysilicon Production

LDK has contracted ($1 Billion) with Fluor Corp., an American engineering firm, for construction of a polysilicon plant. It is planned to produce 6000 tons of virgin polysilicon by end of 2008, and 15,000 tons by end of 2009.cite news | first=Matt | last=Daily | coauthors= Lewis Krauskopf, Gerald E. McCormick | title=Fluor wins $1 bln contract for LDK Solar plant | date=2007-09-07 | publisher=Reuters | url =http://www.reuters.com/article/tnBasicIndustries-SP/idUSN0719350220070907 | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2008-02-24 | language = English ]

Allegations of Inventory Discrepancy

A former Financial Controller claimed that LDK was not properly writing off inventory of silicon scrap that could not be used for production. The company announced it had done an internal audit of their inventory, and an external audit done by their main auditor (KPMG).cite news | first=Jennifer | last=Kho | coauthors= | title=LDK Says SEC Is Inquiring Into Inventory Discrepancy Allegations | date=2007-10-30 | publisher=Greentech Media.com | url =http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/ldk-says-sec-is-inquiring-into-inventory-discrepancy-allegations-250.html | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2008-02-24 | language = English ]

LDK was cleared by the independent audit.cite news | first=Carl | last=Gutierrez | coauthors= | title=LDK Solar's Sunny Audit | date=2007-12-17 | publisher=forbes.com | url =http://www.forbes.com/2007/12/17/ldk-solar-update-markets-equity-cx_cg_1217markets33.html | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2008-02-24 | language = English ] Goldman Sachs has since upgraded LDK to "neutral" and has removed it from the "conviction sell" list.cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Goldman Sachs upgrades LDK Solar (LDK) To Neutral | date=2008-02-19 | publisher=StreetInsider.com | url =http://www.streetinsider.com/Upgrades/Goldman+Sachs+upgrades+LDK+Solar+(LDK)+To+Neutral/3377886.html | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2008-02-24 | language = English ]

References

External links

* [http://www.ldksolar.com LDK Solar Co., Ltd.] - "Official Website"
* [http://investor.ldksolar.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=196973&p=irol-IRhome LDK Solar Co., Ltd.] - "Investor Relations"
* [http://www.ldksolar.com/polysilicon%20profile.html LDK Solar Co., Ltd.] - "Polysilicon Plant Progress"
* [http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=LDK Yahoo Finance] - "Summary of LDK"