Suntech Power Holdings Company Ltd. (STP) posted strong third quarter results of 16 cents, double the Zacks Consensus Earnings per American Depository Share (EPADS) estimate of 8 cents. However, the company fell short of the year-ago EPADS of 33 cents by 17 cents.  Suntech registered total net revenues of $473.1 million in the reported quarter, an increase of 47.4% from $321 million in the previous quarter. Operating expenses were $39.3 million compared to $38.6 million in the previous quarter. Operating expenses included a net $3.5 million reversal of bad debt provision. Income from operations was $44.8 million compared to $21.1 million in the prior quarter.  Gross margin for the core wafer to module business was 20% in the reported quarter, compared with 19.1% in the preceding quarter. Overall consolidated gross profit was $84.1 million and gross margin was 17.8% in the reported quarter compared to consolidated ...

Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (STP) recently set a new world record for multi-crystalline module conversion efficiency (aperture area only) of 16.53%. The company topped its own prior record of 15.6% set in the last month which beat the long-standing world record of 15.5% set by Sandia National Labs 15 years ago. The new world record conversion efficiency was measured by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE.

Suntech Power based from Wuxi, China, is a leading solar energy company in the world. The company designs, develops, manufactures and markets PV cells and modules. It also provides PV system integration services in China. Suntech caters to a worldwide customer base spread around Spain, Germany, the United States, China, South Korea, Italy, the Middle East, Australia and Japan.

For its multi-crystalline silicon modules, Suntech uses its patent-pending Pluto PV cells utilizing solar grade silicon. The Pluto technology for

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Suntech Power Holdings Company Ltd. (STP) introduced a new 60 cell multi-crystalline photovoltaic (PV) Module Rooftop Systems targeted towards the Residential and Commercial segments. The new variant of PV module will be marketed under the product name Wd and is lighter than the existing 72 cell module variant of the company. Suntech Power’s new module variant comes with positive peak power tolerance of 0/+5 watts (W), thus guarantying assured power output. The new module variant weighing approximately 20kg is ideal for customers with ample roof space but could not sustain the heavier 72 cell module variant. The company introduced the 60 cell module variant with two power ratings – 220W and 225W. Wuxi, China-based Suntech is a leading solar energy company in the world. The company designs, develops, manufactures and markets PV cells and modules. Looking forward, Suntech expects more ...

Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (STP) failed to live up to market expectations of a revival in its fiscal second quarter. Although EPADS of 6 cents during the quarter surpassed the Zacks Consensus EPADS estimate of a penny, this was a far cry from the year-ago EPADS of 31 cents. Also, the quarterly results included a $17.5 million foreign exchange gain on account of the appreciation of the euro versus the dollar. Excluding this impact, the company swallowed a loss per ADS of 5 cents during the quarter.   On the revenues front, Suntech witnessed a marginal growth of 1.7% sequentially to $321 million. The growth came through higher shipments leading to volume growth over the first quarter of 2009. Suntech’s dependence on Germany continues, with almost half of its sales coming from the country during the quarter, and Italy chipping in a healthy 13%. The company also generated revenues

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In a recent press release, International Business Machines (IBM) announced the launch of its Analytics solution center in China. IBM is trying to address the need for growing analytics capabilities and help its clients strengthen their business systems, which will in turn enhance their decision making capability.   The new analytics center located in Beijing, China will gather experts from analytics and optimization, mathematics modeling, software engineering and architecture research and consulting departments of IBM. The company has selected China, as the country is a global center for economic development and has a good talent pool of professionals, essential for the analytics solution center.   This solution center will support IBM’s clients in the Greater China region, and resolve business problems relating to hardware, software, consulting services and research. It will also focus on supply chain management, water management, transportation and traffic management issues.

We believe this is a very

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International Business Machines (IBM) is targeting the city of Wuxi as its next big cloud-computing hub. This small Chinese city holds great potential for IBM. The project is expected to attract billions of dollars in government funding to stimulate the area’s tech-focused economic growth.

IBM’s cloud computing enables the delivery of personal and business services from remote, centralized servers transporting computing resources and bandwidth (the "cloud") to any device, anywhere in the world. Wuxi will serve as a datacenter for this purpose. IBM is eyeing 2000 or so software vendors in the region, who will conduct operations from the Wuxi datacenter and share a portion of their revenue with IBM. All IBM cloud computing centers follow the same model, generating a portion of the revenue from local vendors.

The Wuxi deal may only represent just 20 million Yuan initially. However, if we consider the fact that the next

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Auto parts supplier ArvinMeritor Inc. (ARM) recently entered into a strategic partnership with Yutong Group Co. of China.

ArvinMeritor will provide parts and components of power transmission and basic braking systems to Yutong for the production of Yutong buses and chassis. Under the agreement, in addition to continually providing high-end axle products to Yutong, ArvinMeritor will also offer differential carriers and brake calipers made in its production plant in Wuxi, China, for application in Yutong’s self-made axles.

The final product will be assembled at Yutong's plant in Zhenzhou, China. As part of this partnership, ArvinMeritor and Yutong will also sell and distribute standard aftermarket service kits for its products.

The project will commence at the end of 2009 and the investment is expected to exceed $50 million in the next five years. Meanwhile, both parties will also further strengthen the cooperation in a wider area.

ArvinMeritor expects the alliance to consolidate its

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China Resources Vanguard has announced that it has formally acquired the Wuxi-based supermarket chain Yong'an. China Resources Vanguard started discussions with Yong'an Supermarket about the acquisition at the beginning of 2008. In April 2009, the two sides signed an agreement, which said China Resources Vanguard would purchase Yong'an Supermarket by asset acquisition. On the completion of this [...]

Asia Hedge FundsAsia Hedge Fund GuideHere is a short collection of articles on the hedge fund industry in Asia. I am always looking for more valuable online tools and resources to add to these geographical hedge fund guides to the hedge fund industry. If you have a white paper or PowerPoint that I can include here please send me an email and I will post it for everyone's benefit.Resources on the Hedge Fund Industry in AsiaGreat, in dept overview of hedge funds in Asia.Top 25 Hedge Fund performers of AsiaHedge Funds are by reputation a risky and esoteric investment category that ordinary investors had best avoid. But don't repeat ...

We maintain our Buy recommendation on Joy Global, Inc. (JOYG) as the strength in the global coal markets show no signs of weakness. Although margins will be impacted slightly in the near term due to the start up of the P&H factory in China and from lower operating margins from its Continental acquisition, we see the company continuing to benefit as a global leader in mining equipment and services.

The company continues to see strong demand for its equipment across all geographic regions it serves as producers look to expand and ramp up production to capitalize on the persistent global growth in demand for electricity and steel.

Joy Global reported fiscal third quarter earnings of $113 MM or $1.03 per diluted share, a 55% increase compared to $73 MM or $0.66 per diluted share in Q3 07. Earnings in Q3 08 benefited from favorable foreign tax credits which increased EPS

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