Suntech to sell unit for $492m

Debt-ridden Suntech Power Holdings (STP.NYSE, S9H.EPA) has signed an agreement with Shunfeng Photovoltaic International (1165.HKG) to sell its main Chinese unit for US$492 million (RMB3 billion), The Wall Street Journal reported. The unit, Wuxi Suntech Power, owns intellectual property, more than two gigawatts of solar-panel manufacturing capacity and a research-and-development operation, according to people familiar with the company. Struggling amid a global overcapacity of solar panels and falling prices, Suntech holds more than US$2.3 billion in mostly Chinese debt and has to sell assets to pay back creditors.