Chinese solar unit GCL's shares surge as insurer takes a stake
Chinese solar farm GCL New Energy, a unit of solar panel materials manufacturer GCL-Poly Energy, saw its shares rocket after announcing that a unit of China Taiping Insurance is to purchase a major stake in the company. It is hoped this will ease GCL's debt load. Under a non-legally binding “cooperation framework agreement”, Taiping Financial Holdings will lead an HKD8bn ($1bn) fund to make the purchase. Many pension funds and private equity companies are investing in solar and wind farms because of their long-term stable cash flows, according to UBS's head of Asian utilities, Simon Powell.

Under a non binding agreement signed, Taiping Financial Holdings will lead a US$1 billion fund to buy new shares and convertible bonds