Chinese Solar Stocks Slide on Italian Subsidies Threat

Bloomberg reported last week that solar stocks led a decline in Chinese shares traded in New York on speculation that Italy will follow Germany in cutting subsidies to the industry, dimming the outlook for global installations.

LDK Solar tumbled the most in four days while Trina Solar dropped to a two-week low. The Bloomberg China-US Equity Index of the most-traded Chinese shares in the US lost 0.3 percent to 105.42 yesterday, falling for the first time in three days. China Petroleum & Chemical, Asia’s largest refiner, traded at its biggest discount to Hong Kong shares in three months.

Italy, the world’s second-largest solar market, is proposing to cut its industry subsidy by 50 percent, Citigroup Inc. technology analyst Timothy Arcuri said in a research note e-mailed yesterday, citing a first draft of the European nation’s fifth energy plan that the bank had obtained. Germany, the biggest solar market, will reduce aid to the industry by as much as 29 percent from April 1.

The iShares FTSE China 25 Index Fund, the biggest Chinese exchange-traded fund in the US, retreated 0.2 percent to USD37.25, after climbing the most in two weeks on March 26.