(Yicai) Oct. 21 -- Shares in Jinko Solar surged as much as 7.9 percent today after the world’s biggest solar panel maker said it intends to go public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in a secondary listing that could see it raise as much as CNY4.5 billion (USD632.5 million).

Jinko [SHA:688223] closed up 4 percent at CNY8.90 (USD1.25) today.

The overseas fundraiser will cement Jinko Solar's position as a leading maker of the latest N-type high-efficiency PV modules, which have a higher photoelectric conversion efficiency than ordinary panels, the company said in its global depositary receipts issue scheme released yesterday.

It will also provide the funds for the construction of a solar panel plant in the US, enabling the firm to deal with international trading barriers in a flexible manner, the Shanghai-based firm said.

CNY2.7 billion (USD379.6 million) of the proceeds will be used to build a large PV factory in northern Shanxi province, Jinko Solar said. This will be part of the second phase of Jinko Solar’s new PV industrial park in the province which will have a total investment of CNY4.6 billion and an output of 14 gigawatts.

The project, which was first announced in May last year, is costing CNY56 billion (USD7.9 billion). Once up and running each link of the PV industrial chain will have an annual capacity of 56 GW, the firm said at the time.

Another CNY499 million (USD70.1 million) will be used to build a one gigawatt high-efficiency solar power plant in Florida US, while the remaining CNY1.3 billion will go towards supplementing working capital and paying off bank loans, Jinko Solar said. The US factory has a payback period of 8.8 years, including the construction period, after taxes are paid.

Jinko Solar was the world’s biggest supplier of solar panels in the first half, shipping 43.8 GW’s worth. Eighty two percent of these were high-efficiency N-type modules.

Most of Jinko Solar’s solar panels are exported, at 65 percent, accounting for 71 percent of the company’s total revenue. The firm had increased its annual capacity of N-type PV modules of 75 GW as of June 30, according to its 2024 interim report.

Editor: Kim Taylor