MK Lu, chairman of Taiwan-based Sino-American Sapphire (SAS) stated that the price of polysilicon is likely to return to a reasonable level in China because China's government may announce a preliminary result on the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation against polysilicon firms from Europe, South Korea, and the US. The price is likely to return to US$20-21/kg, said Lu.
Lu believes the solar industry will return to stability in 2013 as firms refuse to continue engaging in severe price competition, nevertheless, there are still many uncertainties in the supply chain. Lu believes the China government will not levy high punitive tariff rate on imported polysilicon as many domestic downstream solar firms are still in long-term supply contracts with international polysilicon providers.
Lu added that demand in China, Japan and the US is growing rapidly, especially in China as the government increased the installation target once more.
Market observers believe SAS will report continuous growth of revenues from its semiconductor business and net loss from the sapphire substrate business will likely come to a halt in 2013.
