Jiangsu-based Suntech Power, the world's largest maker of solar panels, yesterday said it aimed to reduce the non-silicon production costs of its panel by 30 per cent to 55 US cents per watt by the end of the year from last year. Last month, the debt-ridden company said it was temporarily shutting down a quarter of its annual production capacity of a solar panel part called solar cell to 1.8 gigawatts. It also set at the time a target to slash annual operation expenses by 20 per cent this year. Eric Ng
ARA Asset Management, a Singaporean real estate fund manager backed by Li Ka-shing, will start taking orders this week for an US$800 million yuan-denominated initial public offering for a China-focused real estate investment trust, Dow Jones quoted sources as saying. If successful, ARA-sponsored Dynasty Reit's offering will be Singapore's first initial public offering to be sold in yuan and the second such flotation outside China. Peggy Sito
Top global miner BHP Billiton said it planned to shed an undisclosed number of jobs in iron ore, its most profitable business, as it battled weaker demand and higher costs, adding to mining job losses in Australia. The cuts in iron ore, following the closure of two of BHP's coal mines, will stoke worries about weakness in the Australian economy, which has been underpinned by booming demand for iron ore and coal, now slowing due to cooling growth in China. Reuters
