LDK Delinquency Flags Chance of Another China Solar Bust

LDK Solar Ltd. (LDK)’s failure to fully pay notes this week has raised the prospect of China’s second solar-industry failure this year as the company needs to repay a loan 10 times larger by June.

The world’s second-biggest maker of wafers that convert sunlight into power couldn’t repay all of the $23.8 million of dollar-denominated convertible bonds that matured on April 15, according to a company statement yesterday. Before the delinquency, its 2014 yuan notes dropped below 50 yuan per 100 yuan face value, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The yield reached a six-month high of 125 percent last week, compared with the 79 percent for Bonn-based Solarworld AG. (SWV) ...

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Another debt-ridden Chinese photovoltaic manufacturer has defaulted on its bonds.

LDK Solar said today that it partially defaulted on $24 million in bonds “due to a temporary cash-flow shortage.” The default follows Suntech’s default in March on $541 million in convertible note and the subsequent bankruptcy of its Chinese operations and a move to seek protection from its European creditors. Suntech, which until 2012 ranked as the world’s largest solar panel maker, is carrying $2.2 billion in debt...

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