OCI puts off USD-104m capacity expansion on weak market

Aug 22, 2013 - South Korean polysilicon maker OCI Co (SEO:010060) said Wednesday it had put on hold a KRW-116.5-billion (USD 104m/EUR 78m) capacity expansion plan until the conditions on the solar market improve.

The company previously intended to install additional polysilicon production lines with a combined capacity of 10,000 tonnes at its manufacturing plant in the western city of Gunsan. Now it will wait until prices in the sector start to stabilise.

Earlier in July the Ministry of Commerce of China said it would impose preliminary anti-dumping duties on solar-grade polysilicon imports from South Korea and the US from July 24 onwards. The duties for South Korean polysilicon producers range between 2.4% for OCI and 48.7% for others. That move has actually triggered a rise in polysilicon prices according to a recent report by market intelligence firm IHS (NYSE:IHS). Near the end of July it guided for a 6.6% increase in the price of the solar cell raw material in China.

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