China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has reportedly held a meeting regarding solar industry regulations. The meeting reportedly set regulations such as firms needing to fit certain requirements in order to be eligible for government financing. The requirement categories include R&D skills, production capacity, shipments, and patent ownership.
Solar makers believe this will push small- and medium-size firms to merge rapidly in order to obtain government financing.
Rumors circulating about the new entry requirements began at the end of fourth-quarter 2012. The rumors noted that firms would need to achieve certain economies of scale to be eligible for government financing.
The solar makers added that there are many small- and medium-size solar firms in China and the combined capacity accounts around 60% of China's total solar cell and module capacity.
