Daqo New Energy

Wanzhou, Chongqing, China
Cayman Islands

Key people

Guangfu Xu (Chairman)
Longgen Zhang (CEO)

Productspolysilicon, silicon wafersWebsitewww.dqsolar.com

Daqo New Energy Corp. is a Chinese company engaged in the manufacture of monocrystalline silicon (mono-Si) and polysilicon (poly-Si), primarily for use in solar photovoltaic systems.^[1] The company operates a mono-Si and poly-Si manufacturing facility located in Shihezi, Xinjiang Province, China.^[2] Daqo formerly manufactured silicon wafers at a facility in Chongqing, China (discontinued in 2018)^[3] and photovoltaic modules at a facility in Nanjing, China (discontinued in 2012).

The company is reportedly tied to the use of forced labor in Xinjiang.^[4]^[5]

Corporate Structure

Daqo New Energy Corp. was incorporated in the Cayman Islands as Mega Stand International Limited in November 2007, adopting a variable interest entity (VIE) structure. The company changed its corporate name to Daqo New Energy Corp. in August 2009.^[6] Daqo New Energy Corp. operates through a number of subsidiaries underneath the parent company, Daqo Cayman. These are:^[6]

Chongqing Daqo, established January 2008, handled manufacturing activities at Daqo's Chongqing facility
Xinjiang Daqo, established February 2011, handles manufacturing activities at Daqo's Xinjiang facility

Listings

Daqo New Energy Corp. was first listed on the New York Stock Exchange in October 2010, and Xinjiang Daqo was listed on China's New Third Board (China's OTC market) in 2016.^[7]

Operations

Monocrystalline and Polycrystalline Silicon Production

Daqo produces its mono-Si and poly-Si using a chemical vapor deposition process in closed-loop reactors.^[8]

From its inception through 2012, Daqo's silicon manufacturing was performed in its Chongqing facility. The Chongqing facility ended its production of silicon in December 2012, while the Xinjiang facility began production of silicon in Q2 2013. Some of the equipment from the Chongqing facility has been relocated from Chongqing to Xinjiang.^[3]

The Xinjiang facility has been expanded several times, increasing its annual silicon production capacity. As of 2018, an expansion (Phase 3B) is currently underway, which will bring the facility's annual production capacity to 30,000 MT.^[3]

Xinjiang Facility Expansion Projects
Project	Completion Date	Silicon Production Capacity
Phase 2A	2013	5,000 MT/year
Phase 2A enhancement	2014	6,150 MT/year
Phase 2B	2nd half of 2015	12,150 MT/year
Phase 3A	Q1 2017	18,000 MT/year
Phase 3B	June 2019	35,000 MT/year^[9]
Phase 4A	Q1 2020 (estimated)	70,000 MT/year^[9]
Phase 4B	Q1 2022	105,000 MT/year^[9]

In Q1 2018, 60% of Daqo's production consisted of monocrystalline silicon and 40% consisted of polycrystalline silicon. Expansions 3B, 4A, and 4B will produce exclusively monocrystalline silicon.^[10]

Silicon Wafer Production

Daqo's Chongqing facility began production of silicon wafers in 2011.^[6] In 2017, the company sold 98 million pieces, up from 82.8 million pieces in 2016.^[3] Daqo used silicon from its Xinjiang facility to create its wafers, an example of vertical integration.

Daqo discontinued its wafer manufacturing operations in September 2018 in response to "increasingly challenging market conditions."^[9]

Photovoltaic Module Production

Daqo formerly produced photovoltaic modules at a facility in Nanjing.^[6] Daqo sold this business in 2012.^{[citation needed]}

U.S. sanctions

Daqo is allegedly tied to the use of forced labor in Xinjiang.^[4] In May 2021, Daqo shortlisted three auditors to assess its operations in an attempt to refute the allegations.^[5] In June 2021, the United States Department of Commerce placed a subsidiary of Daqo, Xinjiang Daqo New Energy Co., on the Bureau of Industry and Security's Entity List.^[11]

References

^ "Products". Daqo New Energy Corp. Archived from the original on March 22, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
^ "Contact Us". Daqo New Energy Corp. Archived from the original on March 25, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Daqo New Energy Corp. Unaudited Q4 and Fiscal Year 2017 Financial Results Presentation" (PDF). Daqo New Energy Corp. 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 26, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Chinese Solar Companies Tied to Use of Forced Labor". The New York Times. January 8, 2021. Archived from the original on May 31, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "China Solar Giant to Hire Auditor as Xinjiang Scrutiny Grows". Bloomberg News. Bloomberg News. May 11, 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-06-02. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Daqo New Energy Corp. Form F-1 Registration Statement". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 2010. Archived from the original on May 16, 2012. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
^ "Milestones". Daqo New Energy Corp. Archived from the original on February 28, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
^ "Technology Advantage". Daqo New Energy Corp. Archived from the original on February 28, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Daqo New Energy Corp. Form 20-F". Daqo New Energy Corp. 2019. Archived from the original on September 28, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
^ "Edited Transcript of DQ earnings conference call or presentation 8-May-18 12:00pm GMT". Yahoo Finance. 2018. Archived from the original on May 18, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
^ "U.S. restricts exports to 5 Chinese firms over rights violations". Reuters. June 23, 2021. Archived from the original on June 23, 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2021.