(Yicai) Aug. 20 -- Das Solar, China's sixth-largest photovoltaic module manufacturer, has voluntarily withdrawn its initial public offering application because of falling PV product prices and sustained market downtrend.

Das Solar canceled its application for a listing on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange submitted on Dec. 29 last year, according to a bourse filing on Aug. 16.

The Zhejiang province-based company planned to raise CNY2.5 billion (USD350 million) from the IPO and use CNY2 billion for high-efficiency N-type tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar battery and module projects, and the remaining CNY500 million (USD70 million) to supplement working capital, according to the listing prospectus.

Das Solar's liabilities to assets ratio was higher than the industry average in the past three years, Yicai calculated based on data from the prospectus. The company's L/A ratio was nearly 87 percent last year, 15 percentage points higher than the average.

"Due to higher requirements for raising funds, the firm is likely to face risks of debt repayment and liquidity if it cannot effectively broaden its financing channels or acquire funds timely, or if the receivables it acquired from customers are less than expected," Das Solar said in its prospectus.

It is unknown what Das Solar's future plans are. But given the solar industry's capacity surplus and weak market prospects, the recent trend has shifted towards mergers, acquisitions, and restructurings.

For example, Tongwei Group announced on Aug. 13 that the world's largest solar silicon producer planned to invest up to CNY5 billion to acquire a 51 percent stake in Jiangsu Runergy New Energy Technology, the world's fifth-biggest solar cell supplier.

Runergy was approved to go public on the ChiNext board in Shenzhen in June last year, planning to raise CNY4 billion to expand capacity and supplement working capital. However, it failed to complete the listing within the one-year term of validity due to business difficulties amid falling solar product prices.

China's polycrystalline silicon output soared 75 percent to 1.1 million tons in the first half of the year from a year earlier, according to data from the China PV Industry Association. The country's solar silicon capacity jumped 59 percent to 402 gigawatts in the period, while that of solar batteries and modules rose 38 percent and 33 percent to 310 GW and 271 GW, respectively.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione