Foundry chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) has quietly sold its solar cell business, which was introduced in 2006, to Solarfun Power, a China-based PV cell maker, according to news media in China.
The speculation comes after Solarfun's recent announcement that it has acquired a cell line from SMIC, and expects the purchase to help increase its cell capacity to over 500MW by July 1, 2010. Solarfun did not specify whether the cell line represents SMIC's complete solar unit.
A March 2009 article cited SMIC's former CEO Richard Chang as saying that the foundry would spin off its solar cell business and tentatively name the new entity SMIC Energy. Chang stepped down from his position in November 2009.
Article translated by Jessie Shen
