Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. said yesterday that it was continuing talks with debtholders over a new repayment plan after the company defaulted on a $541 million bond payment, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The China-based solar-panel maker was scheduled to repay foreign investors for the bonds on Friday. But the company, which has faced shrinking profit amid difficulty in the solar-panel market, did not make the payment on the 3 percent convertible notes. A group of investors that hold about 60 percent of the bonds signed a forbearance agreement with Suntech, under which they agreed to give Suntech until May 15 to repay the bonds.
