Korean tech giants not having much luck in solar

ZDNet. By Eileen Yu for By The Way | April 7, 2014. Faced with tough competition from Chinese manufacturers and market slump, South Korean tech giants including SK, LG, and Samsung are finding it tough to turn their solar ventures into profitable businesses. The solar technology market, once deemed to be a potential cash cow, is proving to be less than lucrative for the Korean companies, which also have to contend with Chinese manufacturers able to produce the products at a lower cost. "The downturn in the solar technology market continues, and recovery is not yet in sight," a researcher from the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, who declined to be named, told The Korea Times. "For example, the market for polysilicon, a key material for solar energy solutions, is still grappling with severe oversupply and weak demand." He said some big companies were planning to shutter their solar energy businesses to stump the weakening financial crisis. Sohn Ji-woo, an analyst at SK Securities, concurred: "Worsening performance financially burdens big companies. Withdrawal from the market will come."
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