Feb. 18 – This is a regular series of relevant industry news from around China.

Solar power
Chinese solar cells maker JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. said it had extended its existing agreement with BP Alternative Energy Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of BP Plc, to supply monocrystalline and multicrystalline solar cells to BP Solar in 2009, with an initial volume of 175 MW and with the potential to expand to 360 MW. Financial details were not disclosed.

The company also lowered its revenue guidance for 2009 to between US$830 million and US$952 million because of the financial crisis and the resulting credit crunch.

In November last year, JA Solar also lowered forecast revenue range from US$1.43 billion to US$1.66 billion, compared with the previously projected US$2 billion to US$2.2 billion. Industry insiders project a 2009 revenue of US$993.8 million on average.

Air transport
Macao International Airport Company expects it will serve 10 percent less passengers this year than 2008 to just 4.5 million. The company also projects that cargo throughput will drop to 50,000 tons, a decrease of 50.3 percent compared to 2008.

The Kunming-based regional flight provider Kunming Airlines Co. Ltd. will start flying on February 15. Up until now, the air carrier has had a shortage of pilots. Its first route will connect Kunming and Harbin.

Cathay Pacific Airways Limited and its subsidiary, Dragonair, reported that passenger numbers increased by 2.4 percent to 2.09 million in January compared to the same period of 2008.

China Southern Airlines Limited said that its passenger number reached 5.194 million in January, up by 16.2 percent year-on-year. However, its cargo volume fell to 57,490 tons, 32.8 percent less than during the same period in 2008.

Wind power
Taiwanese Teco Electric & Machinery Co. plans to establish two wind power repair and maintenance centers, in Xinjiang and Neimenggu, Inner Mongolia. The company also plans to build a wind turbine plant in the Mainland.

This industry report brief is courtesy of Aii Data Processing.