Sinomania!

A polysilicon manufacturer out of Chongqing, Daqo New Energy Corp., looks to rai$e $108 million (US dollars) with a listing on NYSE under stock symbol DQ. Daqo makes the key ingredient for solar photovoltaic panels and Daqo lists Yingli Green Energy of Beijing as a major customer. The company began direct manufacturing of solar panels in May when it opened a factory in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. Daqo New Energy is one of 23 subsidiaries of the Daqo Group, a big electronics conglomerate founded in 1965 in Jiangsu....

The head of the policy department of the Ministry of Industry & Information Technology - one of Beijing's five "super" ministries - says a plan is underway to consolidate the power, coal, iron and steel, cement, nonferrous metal, coke, paper, leather and printing material industries. Specifically targeted is the iron and steel industry with the call to shut down furnaces less than 30 tons capacity. The plan also calls to eliminate outdated plants in the textile industry by the end of next year. The ministry warns it will take joint efforts of all government departments to achieve the aims.

The consolidation of China's massive but scattered and often inefficient heavy industrial plant is a long standing goal. It will be accomplished through corporatization of government-owned businesses and mergers and acquisitions leading to a handful of powerful industrial leaders. This is part of Beijing's overarching desire to see American style "big 3" players in all industrial sectors.

Economic restructuring is one of 5 key areas Beijing is channeling central government resources into in a bid to jump start a "third wave" in the Chinese economy. The other areas are agriculture, alternative energy, social services particularly education and health care, and "independent innovation"....

A 102 Megawatt offshore wind farm will begin operating by the end of April in the delta lands off Shanghai. Chinese wind turbine developer Sinovel installed 34 wind turbines in the muddy waters, the first installation in a plan to get over 500 Megawatts of wind power generation off the Chinese east coast. Each Sinovel SL3000 turbine contains core electrical components created and supplied by American Superconductor (NASDAQ:AMSC).

AMSC initially struck a deal to supply electrical components to China via its Chinese subsidiary WindTec. But in January 2010 Beijing's National Development and Reform Commission lifted the 70% domestic components requirement for wind energy development. This move will allow foreign companies much greater access to the fast growing clean energy sector in China.

This June Shanghai will host Offshore Wind China 2010 organized by Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association, the Global Wind Energy Council and others....

Milestone Biofuels will be the name of a new venture between New Generation Biofuels (NASDAQ:NGBF) of Columbia, Maryland, and Chinese partner Regent Trend Investment (formerly Great Full Group Holdings) who will supply $20 million (US dollars) for the joint venture to produce 250 million gallons of biofuels a year in the USA....

An amendment to China's renewable energy law puts the regulations under direct central government control. The amendment also strengthens the requirement of power companies to connect renewable energy producers to electricity grids.

As the first decade of the 21st Century comes to a close China now has the world's largest electricity transmission network at 375,000 kil0meters or over 233,000 miles of transmission lines. And there are big developments ahead. Throughout the nation China's utilities plan to install 150 billion smart meters to allow greater flexibility in rate pricing.

State Grid, the 15th biggest company in the world according to Fortune magazine, sold 20 billion Yuan (just under $3 billion US dollars) worth of 7 and 10 year corporate bonds on Christmas Eve. The money raised will be used in part to build an ultra-high voltage transmission line from Fulong, Sichuan, near the Xiangjiaba hydroelectric dam to a high voltage AC station at Nanhui, Shanghai. And State Grid may partner with Duke Energy to build transmission lines in the USA....

Coming this week to NYSE and NASDAQ three new Chinese initial public offerings. CCM is Concord Medical Services that leases radiology equipment to cancer centers throughout China. CCM will trade on NYSE and was originally priced between $9-$11 per share. Also at NYSE is TRO, Trony Solar Holdings, the leading Chinese maker of thin film solar modules. In a crowded market, ShenZhen based TRO hopes to raise up to $200 million. And on NASDAQ NKBP is the symbol for China Nuokang BioPharma offering shares between $10-$12. NKBP derives much of its revenue from hemocoagulent drug Baquting. (All prices quoted are US dollar.) So far this year, Chinese IPOs are among the best performers in the world (see chart).

In related news, the shares of AsiaInfo Holdings (NASDAQ:ASIA) are soaring today on news that it will acquire its chief competitor Linkage Technologies. Linkage, a developer of core operating systems used by China's telecom giants, was set to IPO this week in New York....

Yingli Green Energy Holding of Baoding, Hebei Province, is completing the financing for a solar panel factory in southwest USA location as yet unannounced. The plant will be built in two stages each producing 50 MW of panels and create 300 jobs with output as soon as late 2010. Leading Chinese solar panel producer Suntech by some measures the world's number 1 producer of photovoltaic cells is also planning a factory in America perhaps in Oregon as previously reported by Sinomania!....

In less than a 48 hour period, the western American states Nevada and Colorado signed investment deals with Chinese state and business delegations. Nevada's governor is a Republican and Colorado's a Democrat so the desire to bring China in is a bi-partisan affair.

The various deals planned are around investment in clean tech or alternative energy including the possibility of Chinese solar firms setting up factories and power plants. Interestingly, one of the areas singled out for Chinese investment is mining. Both Nevada and Colorado are centers of gold mining in the USA. Nevada is by far the leading gold producing state....

Concerned about overcapacity and overinvestment in certain sectors, Beijing has put the following industries on notice: steel, cement, plate glass, coal chemical, poly silicon (the key component in solar panels), and wind power. All will be "guided" by relevant government departments in the following areas: market access (share issues & loans), land use (access and sales), and environmental supervision (pollution control). Lately, overcapacity in the solar sector has been an issue globally with excess supply bringing down prices. Look for greater consolidation in these industries and with luck the grooming of major potential Chinese multinational corporations.....

A report by McKinsely & Company consultants urges outright cooperation between the USA and China in clean tech efforts particularly electric vehicles, solar power, and carbon capture. As readers here know, Sinomania! has urged convergence between the globe's most dynamic giants from its inception....

The green light has been given to establish hemp cultivation areas in Yunnan, Heilongjiang, Gansu and Anhui provinces as well as the autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia with the goal of creating a new resource for textiles and paper and bringing millions out of poverty by 2020. Already production is begun in remote district of Yunnan province.

Hemp originated in China. Archeological evidence dating back 9,000 years shows it was a cultivated plant. The psychoactive component THC appears to have occured through experimentation with the plant sometime around 3,000 years ago when varieties yielding marijuana were achieved. Although classified a controlled substance by Beijing, as visitors to China know, marijuana use is widespread and not agressively criminalized as in the USA.

But the hemp cultivation envisioned in the new programs is not marijuana but a Chinese hemp variety called Yunma I and Yunma II developed over the past 20 years to yield even stronger fibers but very low THC content....

According to reports first revealed by the venerable Gasgoo.com China auto portal, SAIC's VW unit will debut a hydrogen Passat -- the Lingyu -- at the LA Auto Show starting this weekend. Shanghai VW plans production of the car by 2010.

Chinese auto companies appear to gain on their American partners (and rivals, at least in terms of market share) in alternative fuel technologies. BYD Auto plans electric cars and got a show of confidence from Warren Buffett with a sizeable shares purchase. And other technologies are being implemented such as continuously variable transmissions (CVT) which the German firm Bosch may transfer to Chinese car makers.

Amid all the doom-and-gloom with American stocks Chinese investing remains a bright spot. Yesterday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 7% value, famous stock picker Warren Buffett bought close to 10% of the shares of Chinese battery maker BYD, listed on the Hong Kong exchange as 1211.HK. The company is transforming itself into an electric car maker --BYD Auto -- with big plans. The F1 pictured here sells for under $3,000. One to watch!