Auditors Exit in Less Than a Month, "Quit Abruptly" - What's the Status of Shijing Technology's Over 100 Billion Yuan Solar Power Base Investment?

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Everyday Economic News reporter | Zhu Chengxiang Zhang Baolian Everyday Economic News editor | Dong Xing Sheng

On the evening of February 25th, Shijing Technology (SZ301030, stock price 12.73 yuan, market value 2.576 billion yuan) announced that Suyajin Cheng Certified Public Accountants (Special General Partnership) submitted a resignation letter on February 13th, resigning as the auditor for the 2025 annual report. It is worth noting that Shijing Technology only appointed Suyajin Cheng as the auditor for the 2025 annual report on January 19, 2026. The audit firm resigned in less than a month after starting, which drew attention from the capital market. After the announcement, Shijing Technology’s stock price once fell sharply.

Sina Media Asset Library Zhang Baolian photo

At the same time, attention was also drawn to Shijing Technology’s Anhui Ningguo photovoltaic project with a total investment of over 10 billion yuan.

On March 11th, a reporter from Daily Economic News (hereinafter referred to as “the reporter”) visited Shijing Technology’s Ningguo factory in person. An employee wearing a work badge, claiming to be the workshop project manager, said that the factory’s performance has been continuously declining. Currently, they are not recruiting workers, and some dispatched workers have already left. The employee himself is also about to change jobs. Several security personnel at the factory gate said that since the New Year, no recruitment has been ongoing, and the recruitment information on the large screen at the entrance has been removed.

However, regarding the current capacity utilization rate of the Ningguo factory, Shijing Technology’s Secretary Yang Baolong told the reporter: “As of now, the capacity utilization rate of Shijing Technology’s Ningguo factory is relatively stable and within a reasonable range.”

On-site investigation of Shijing Technology’s Ningguo factory shows “fewer orders, sluggish economy”

Around 2022, during the photovoltaic boom cycle, various counties and cities in Anhui Province launched a wave of photovoltaic investment. Ningguo City, which ranks high in Anhui’s county economy, was no exception. Shijing Technology is investing in Ningguo City.

On March 11th, Ningguo City, known as the “Hometown of Chinese Mountain Walnuts,” already showed signs of spring. This small city in southern Anhui, adjacent to Zhejiang, was once highly regarded for a photovoltaic “giant project” with a total investment of 11.2 billion yuan and a planned annual capacity of 24 GW. But when the reporter took a ride-hailing car from Ningguo South High-Speed Rail Station to Shijing Technology’s Ningguo base, the driver said he hadn’t received any ride orders to that base for several months.

“This factory is very famous in Ningguo. It was very busy at the beginning, with so many private cars parked at the entrance that they couldn’t fit. Young people from the factory often take taxis to the city. Now, you hardly see anyone leaving from there,” said the ride-hailing driver, adding a layer of coldness to the once-legendary industry base that was known for “signing contracts, building, and commissioning within the same year.”

When the reporter arrived at Shijing Technology’s Ningguo base, they saw a glass curtain wall over 100 meters long, and the grand factory area symbolized past ambitions. This is the site of Shijing Technology’s over 10 billion yuan investment in a 24 GW high-efficiency N-type (phosphorus-doped substrate) monocrystalline TOPCon (tunneling oxide passivation contact technology) solar cell project. The first phase, 18 GW, covers about 518 acres, with a total construction area of nearly 300,000 square meters—equivalent to 48 standard 11-a-side football fields. It was once the flagship project of Ningguo Economic Development Zone, with full production expected to generate about 20 billion yuan in annual sales and over 600 million yuan in taxes after reaching full capacity.

“Fewer orders, sluggish economy.” During interviews, the reporter learned that the current number of employees working at the factory is not large. Production is only carried out when there are orders; otherwise, workers rest.

The reporter then circled to the logistics passage on the side of the factory. Along the wall of the park, a large amount of waste materials such as insulation layers were piled up. When two employees passed by and saw the waste, they stopped and seemed to discuss. After several hours of observation, no logistics vehicles were seen entering or leaving, and only three idling medium-sized trucks were parked on both sides of the road.

Next to Phase I of the factory, the reporter also saw the construction site of the “Anhui Ningguo National Economic Development Zone High-Quality Development Infrastructure and Green Silicon Production Base, Supporting Infrastructure EPCF Project” (hereinafter referred to as the Green Silicon Project), which Shijing Technology was a joint bidder for. In April 2024, Shijing Technology announced this bid-winning result, and in August of the same year, signed the “Construction Project Contract.” The announcement at that time stated that the total investment of the project exceeded 2 billion yuan, with the bidding party being Anhui Ningguo Zhongyi New Urbanization Construction Co., Ltd.

The site’s engineering overview board shows that the construction period is 240 days (about 8 months), with a construction period of 180 days (about 6 months). Now, more than a year and a half have passed since August 2024.

Looking inside the main factory, the reporter saw that the main part of the plant had been built, but landscaping and ground infrastructure were still incomplete. No signs of construction activity were observed on the day. A local person guarding the factory said that after the Spring Festival, no further work had been done here.

Today, the photovoltaic boom has cooled, and the industry has been in a downward cycle for more than two years. As a latecomer, Shijing Technology did not catch the peak of the photovoltaic boom but has been enduring the downturn.

Cross-industry photovoltaic latecomer, facing industry adjustments

Rewinding to 2023, although the photovoltaic industry had already shown signs of overcapacity, Shijing Technology still invested heavily, launching a photovoltaic project in Ningguo with over 10 billion yuan.

In January 2023, the company signed an investment agreement with Ningguo Economic and Technological Development Zone Management Committee (hereinafter referred to as Ningguo Dev Zone Management Committee), planning to build a 24 GW high-efficiency N-type monocrystalline TOPCon solar cell project in two phases.

In June 2023, the Anhui Development and Reform Commission officially approved the energy-saving review for the first phase of 18 GW production line, clarifying that the total investment was 7.5 billion yuan, with key indicators such as an annual comprehensive energy consumption of over 128,000 tons of standard coal; by August 2023, Shijing Technology’s subsidiary Anhui Shijing Solar Technology Co., Ltd. and Ningguo Dev Zone Management Committee’s affiliated state-owned company Ningguo Zhongyi terminated the original agreement’s obligations for the repurchase of factory buildings and electromechanical facilities, replacing them with long-term leasing cooperation. This major agreement change was only publicly disclosed in July 2025. By the end of November 2023, the first phase 18 GW battery project was officially put into production, and on December 28 of the same year, the first TOPCon cell was produced.

The entire process from signing to commissioning in less than a year was remarkable at the time, making this “giant project” highly notable.

On June 29, 2023, the photovoltaic research agency InfoLink commented that current demand for cell procurement remained strong, with manufacturers maintaining an ideal inventory level of about 2 to 3 days at month-end, with low sales pressure. At that time, the price of M10 N-type TOPCon cells was about 0.78 yuan per watt.

By December 27, 2023, InfoLink’s review changed to state that almost all specifications of battery cells were now at a loss during production, with manufacturers pessimistic and reducing capacity. The mainstream transaction price of TOPCon (M10) cells had fallen to about 0.47 yuan per watt, only 60% of the mid-year price.

After more than two years of photovoltaic industry downturn, what is the current situation of Shijing Technology’s Ningguo base (such as the current operation rate and shipment volume of Phase I)? How many workers are still employed? What is the progress of the Phase II project? How is the receivables situation for photovoltaic cell products? The reporter asked Yang Baolong on March 18th, but as of press time, no reply had been received.

It is understood that before entering the photovoltaic industry, Shijing Technology mainly focused on environmental protection equipment, including process pollution control equipment and end-of-line pollution treatment equipment, providing supporting environmental protection devices for many photovoltaic industry chain manufacturers.

When asked why they entered the photovoltaic field, Shijing Technology’s Secretary Yang Baolong told the Daily Economic News: “Our previous business was also closely related to photovoltaics. Many photovoltaic manufacturers are our clients.” In his view, Shijing Technology has a good understanding of the photovoltaic industry.

Technological upgrades and silver price hikes, what is the future of photovoltaic business?

Currently, both demand and raw material sides of the photovoltaic cell industry face challenges. On the demand side, downstream new installations are growing slowly or even declining. On the raw material side, the rapid rise in silver prices has led to a sharp increase in photovoltaic silver paste prices, raising raw material costs for photovoltaic cells.

Yang Baolong said: “In response to the silver paste price increase, Shijing Technology will adopt measures such as locking in silver at low points, developing new suppliers, and reducing slurry solid content to lower silver paste costs. The company also has reserves of silver-copper packaging technology. For specific capacity utilization and business progress, please refer to the company’s future periodic disclosures.”

Additionally, leading TOPCon technology manufacturer JinkoSolar is also upgrading its TOPCon capacity with new technologies to improve photoelectric conversion efficiency, such as edge passivation. To reduce the impact of rising silver prices on photovoltaic cells, many manufacturers are trying TOPCon silver-copper packaging technology, which reduces silver content to lower costs.

Yang Baolong responded: “The company focuses on N-type TOPCon cell technology iteration and cost reduction and efficiency improvement. We pay close attention to industry trends in silver reduction technology. Currently, we have introduced 0BB (no busbar) technology to reduce silver consumption, which can save silver paste and help lower costs and improve efficiency. In the future, the company will continue to rely on its technological accumulation and R&D advantages, closely follow industry developments in silver reduction, and promote technological innovation according to business needs. Major technological layouts will be disclosed in accordance with regulatory requirements.”

Regarding edge passivation and other technologies, he said: “Shijing Technology has been committed to R&D of edge passivation technology and has the conditions for technological upgrading. We will decide on the timing of upgrades based on market conditions.”

However, whether it is edge passivation or silver-copper reduction technology, both require additional capital expenditure to upgrade production lines.

As of the end of the third quarter of 2025, Shijing Technology’s cash and cash equivalents were 303 million yuan, compared to 729 million yuan at the same period last year. On January 30th, Shijing Technology disclosed its 2025 performance forecast, estimating net profit attributable to shareholders of -970 million to -770 million yuan, slightly worse than the -771 million yuan of the same period last year.

The company explained that the performance loss was due to the continued low prices of photovoltaic products in 2025, forcing a reduction in cell product prices, while fixed costs could not be lowered proportionally, leading to a significant decline in gross profit and increased operating pressure, resulting in losses for the year.

According to the announcement on March 12th, 2026, regarding the judicial re-freezing of some shares of the controlling shareholder and actual controller, inquiries to Zhu Ye revealed that Zhu Ye and his associates had large overdue debts with Shandong International Trust Co., Ltd. over the past year.

Zhu Ye is the controlling shareholder and actual controller of Shijing Technology.

In this context, as a latecomer in the photovoltaic cell industry, can Shijing Technology catch up with mainstream manufacturers like JinkoSolar by adopting new technologies? After a long downturn, can Shijing Technology see a “dawn”?

What is the current operation status of Shijing Technology’s Ningguo factory? How many workers are there at full capacity, and how many remain now? What is the progress of the Phase II project? How are the receivables for photovoltaic cell products? The reporter asked Yang Baolong on March 18th, but as of press time, no reply was received.

Cover image source: Daily Economic News Media Asset Library Zhang Baolian photo