Tech Insider: China’s Top Five Solar-Gear Makers, Alibaba’s $2 Billion Turkey Investment
Battery-maker Gotion switches on Germany factory, Huawei and Xiaomi bury the patent hatchet
Employees of Longi Green Energy Technology participate in a production workshop in Taizhou, Jiangsu province. Photo: VCG
Welcome to Caixin’s Tech Insider, your twice-weekly wrap on the movers, shakers and deal-makers in China’s tech scene.
Tip sheet: China’s biggest solar-gear makers
Few people can argue the importance of Chinese solar manufacturers to the world’s effort to shift from fossil fuel to clean energy. They occupy more than 80% of the global market in every manufacturing stage of solar panels, from polysilicon to cells to entire panels, according to the International Energy Agency.
But China’s domestic solar market is notoriously brutal. Fierce price wars, constant pressure to innovate and the inherent risks of an over-supplied market leave no room for mediocrity.
Read about Caixin’s breakdown of the five largest Chinese solar equipment manufacturers, all of which have strong internal industry chains, giving them advantages in pricing and efficiency against their competition. Some of them also have ambitions in other clean energy technologies, such as hydrogen.
Alibaba unveils $2 billion investment in Turkey
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. announced plans to invest $2 billion in Turkey after a meeting with president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The president of the tech giant, Michael Evans, made the announcement after the meeting in Istanbul on Friday, according to a statement from its Turkish unit Trendyol. Evans indicated that the company has “confidence in Turkey’s sound economic fundamentals” and has already invested $1.4 billion in the country through Trendyol, Turkey’s biggest e-commerce marketplace.
In 2021, Turkey launched an antitrust probe into Trendyol, which had a valuation of $16.5 billion that year. This past July, Turkey’s top court upheld a law tightening regulation on e-commerce businesses in a blow to the company.
Huawei and Xiaomi bury the patent hatchet
Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. has finalized a global cross-licensing patent agreement with Xiaomi Corp., settling a legal dispute over four Huawei patents involving 4G and handset technologies.
The agreement covers multiple technologies including 5G, Huawei said Wednesday. The deal comes as Huawei is trying to bring in more revenue from licensing its patents after its once-lucrative smartphone business was crippled by U.S. sanctions.
Last month, Huawei renewed a multiyear global patent cross-licensing agreement with Swedish telecommunications-equipment giant Ericsson Inc. The deal covers patents essential to each firm’s network infrastructure and consumer devices.
In 2022, Huawei earned $560 million in revenue from its patent licensing deals, according to Alan Fan, head of its intellectual property rights department.
Battery-maker Gotion switches on Germany factory
Gotion High-tech Co. Ltd. has kicked off production at its first European factory, part of a broader overseas expansion.
The plant, located in the German city of Göttingen, will increase its production lines in four phases with an aim to reach an annual capacity of 20 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of battery packs, according to a company statement published Sunday.
Volkswagen AG-backed Gotion expects to begin delivering products from the plant to European customers in October. The factory’s battery packs will be used in vehicles as well as energy storage systems, the statement said.
Opening the Göttingen facility marks the latest push by Gotion into overseas markets as the Shenzhen-listed company plans to locate one-third of its 300 GWh of planned production capacity outside of China by 2025.
AI startup 4Paradigm aims to raise $113 Million in Hong Kong IPO
Beijing-based AI startup and service provider Beijing Fourth Paradigm Technology Co. Ltd. kicked off a long-awaited IPO in Hong Kong, aiming to raise a net HK$885 million ($113 million).
Fourth Paradigm, also known as 4Paradigm, will offer 18.4 million shares in a price range of HK$55.60 to HK$61.16 each, according to its regulatory filings. The offering gives the company a valuation between HK$25.8 billion and HK$28.4 billion.
Established in 2014, Fourth Paradigm provides AI-powered solutions for corporate clients in sectors including finance, retail, health care, manufacturing and energy, according to its website.
The company completed several rounds of fundraising totaling nearly $1 billion. It was valued around $2.95 billion in its most recent funding round in June 2021.