(Yicai) Nov. 12 -- China's Runergy New Energy Technology has shut down the fourth phase of one of its solar panel factories in Thailand and has partially suspended operations at one of its photovoltaic cell plants, as the world’s fifth-largest solar cell supplier adjusts to changing global market conditions, particularly in the US, industry insiders said.

Phase one, two and three of the factory produced more than 100 megawatts of solar panels this month which were sold to the US market, Yicai learned. The Yancheng-based company has 7 gigawatts of PV module capacity in the Southeast Asian country.

Runergy produced 150 MW of battery cells in November. Although it has now paused production at one factory, around one fifth of its capacity can be restarted when needed.

Runergy’s Thai solar panel plant will start operating again when orders start coming in from the US, but if there are no orders it will remain shuttered, an industry insider told Yicai. The firm’s US PV module factory made some panels in August but it has been quiet since then due to a lack of orders.

Runergy has been building factories in Thailand and the US to better serve local markets. Its new solar panel plant in Huntsville, Alabama, which has an annual output of around 2 GW, is up and running, the firm said on Oct. 4. Deliveries are likely to have started that month.

Since the third quarter, Chinese PV firms with factories in Southeast Asia have adopted a ‘wait-and-see’ attitude, market analysts said. They might be concerned that Donald Trump as the next US president could lower tax subsidies, hurting profits, or they might be worried about traceability issues with exported solar panels.

Runergy is also facing a takeover bid. Chinese PV giant Tongwei Group offered up to CNY5 billion (USD690 million) for a 51 percent stake in Runergy in August. If the deal goes through, it would be the largest merger and acquisitions transaction in the solar industry amid a sluggish market.

Tongwei does not yet own any equity in Runergy, so the shutdown of any overseas factories is a decision that would be made by Runergy’s management only, a source close to the Chengdu-based firm told Yicai.

Tongwei is working with third-party intermediaries to perform due diligence on potential M&As, the Chengdu-based firm said at an earnings call on Nov. 4. If there are important developments, the company will disclose them in a timely manner in accordance with the regulations.

Editor: Kim Taylor