(Yicai) June 5 -- Longi Green Energy Technology said the Chinese solar panel giant has not closed its plants in Malaysia and Vietnam nor halted operations at the factories, as rumored, but has modified their production schedules.

Longi has adjusted production schedules in various regions for digital upgrades and technological transformation, the Xi’an-based company told Yicai yesterday.

According to the online rumor, Longi’s solar panel factory in Malaysia will gradually shut from this week and all five production lines at its battery cell plant in Vietnam have ceased operation.

Longi said the adjustments include cross-factory support and staggered holidays, and future output schedules will be adjusted based on market changes and the progress of upgrades and transformation.

Longi has invested CNY3.7 billion (USD500 million) in its Malaysian plant and CNY757 million (USD100 million) in its Vietnamese factory, according to the firm’s 2023 earnings report.

The photovoltaic industry faces a number of challenges this year, including price fluctuations, fast technology upgrades, and changes in trade policy, Longi told Yicai. More and more PV firms have scaled back or halted production since last month as cash flow pressure mounts, which will lead to destocking, Longi said previously.

Moreover, the United States, Türkiye, India, Brazil, and other countries have imposed sanctions on Chinese and Southeast Asian solar companies.

On May 16, the White House announced it would reimpose tariffs on solar energy products made in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam the next day and require them to be installed within six months of being imported.

The move affects Chinese PV firms that shifted production to SE Asia in 2012 to bypass US anti-dumping and countervailing investigations at the time.

Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam had a combined annual production capacity of 77 gigawatts of PV cells and 85 GW of PV modules as of the end of last year, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The four countries accounted for about 75 percent of US PV module imports last year.

Longi’s 5 GW PV module plant in Ohio, co-built with local clean energy developer Invenergy, was put into operation in the first quarter of the year.

Editor: Futura Costaglione