Investigation | Audit Firm Resigns Within a Month of Joining, What's the Current Status of Shijing Technology's Solar Base with Over 10 Billion Yuan in Total Investment?

What is the reason for the shift from hot to cold in the AI and Ningguo photovoltaic projects?

Earlier, on the evening of February 25, Shijing Technology (SZ301030, stock price 12.73 yuan, market value 2.576 billion yuan) announced that Suyajincheng Certified Public Accountants (Special General Partnership) submitted a resignation letter on February 13, resigning from the 2025 annual report audit engagement. Notably, Shijing Technology only appointed Suyajincheng as the auditor for the 2025 annual report on January 19, 2026. The audit firm resigned in less than a month after starting, drawing attention from the capital market. Following the announcement, Shijing Technology’s stock price sharply declined.

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

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

Source: Dejing photographer Zhang Baolian

However, regarding the current capacity utilization rate of the Ningguo factory, Yang Baolong, the company’s secretary, told reporters: “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 a photovoltaic boom cycle, various counties and cities within Anhui Province launched a wave of photovoltaic investment. Ningguo City, which ranks high in Anhui’s county economy, was no exception. The company investing in Ningguo was Shijing Technology.

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

“This factory is very famous in Ningguo. It was very busy at the beginning, with private cars parked at the entrance, and young people often took taxis to the city. Now, you hardly see anyone there,” said the ride-share driver. His words cast a cold shadow over this industry base, which once set a benchmark for “signing, construction, and commissioning in the same year.”

When the reporter arrived at Shijing Technology’s Ningguo base, they saw a glass curtain wall over 100 meters long, and a grand factory area that once symbolized ambition. 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, expected to generate about 20 billion yuan in annual sales and over 600 million yuan in taxes once fully operational.

Shijing Technology Ningguo site. Source: Dejing photographer Zhang Baolian

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

The reporter then circled to the side logistics corridor of the factory. On one wall of the park, a large pile of insulation materials and other waste was stacked. When two employees passed by and saw the waste, they stopped and seemed to discuss it. Over several hours of observation, no logistics vehicles were seen entering or leaving, and only three idling medium-sized trucks were parked along the road.

Next to Phase One’s 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” (hereafter referred to as the Green Silicon Project), which Shijing Technology was part of as a consortium member. In April 2024, Shijing Technology announced this bid win, and in August of the same year, signed the “Construction Project Contract.” The project was reported to have a total investment of over 2 billion yuan, with the bidding agency being Ningguo Zhongyi New Urbanization Construction Co., Ltd., a state-owned enterprise under Ningguo Economic Development Zone.

According to the project overview board, the construction period is 240 days (about 8 months), with a construction duration 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 structure has been built, but landscaping and ground infrastructure are still incomplete. On the day of the visit, no construction activity was observed. A local person guarding the factory said that no work has resumed since after the Spring Festival.

Green Silicon Project still incomplete. Source: Dejing photographer Zhang Baolian

Today, the photovoltaic boom has cooled, and the industry has been in a downward cycle for over 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 continued to invest heavily, launching a photovoltaic project in Ningguo worth over 100 billion yuan.

In January 2023, the company signed an investment agreement with Ningguo Economic and Technological Development Zone Management Committee (hereafter Ningguo Development Zone). The plan was 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’s 18 GW production line, clarifying a total investment of 7.5 billion yuan and key indicators such as annual comprehensive energy consumption exceeding 128,000 tons of standard coal. By late August 2023, Shijing Technology’s subsidiary Anhui Shijing Photovoltaic Technology Co., Ltd. and Ningguo Development Zone’s state-owned company Ningguo Zhongyi terminated the original agreement’s obligations for factory and electromechanical equipment repurchase, switching to long-term leasing cooperation. This major agreement change was only publicly disclosed in July 2025. By late November 2023, the first phase 18 GW battery project was officially put into production, and on December 28, the first TOPCon battery was produced.

Within less than a year from signing to commissioning, this “giant project” drew much attention at the time.

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

By December 27, 2023, InfoLink’s assessment changed: “The entire battery segment is now basically operating at a loss across all specifications, with manufacturers pessimistic and reducing production lines significantly.” The mainstream transaction price for TOPCon (M10) cells had fallen to about 0.47 yuan per watt, only 60% of mid-year prices.

After more than two years of industry downturn, what is the current situation of Shijing Technology’s Ningguo base (including the first phase’s operation rate and shipment volume)? On March 12, a Ningguo Development Zone official declined to comment, citing “company privacy, not convenient to answer.”

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

When asked why they entered the photovoltaic field, Yang Baolong, the company’s secretary, told Dejing: “Our previous business was also closely related to photovoltaics. Many photovoltaic manufacturers are our clients.” Therefore, he believes that Shijing Technology has a good understanding of the 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 costs, raising the raw material costs of solar cells.

Yang Baolong stated: “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 costs. The company also has reserves for silver-copper packaging technology. For specific capacity utilization and business progress, please refer to the company’s future periodic disclosures.”

Additionally, leading N-type TOPCon technology manufacturer Jinko Solar is also upgrading its TOPCon capacity with new technologies to improve photoelectric conversion efficiency, such as edge passivation. To mitigate the impact of rising silver prices, many manufacturers are trying silver-copper packaging technology, which reduces silver usage.

Yang Baolong responded: “The company focuses on iterative improvements of N-type TOPCon technology and cost reduction. We are closely monitoring industry trends in silver reduction, and have introduced 0BB (no busbar) technology to reduce silver consumption, helping lower costs and improve efficiency. In the future, we will continue leveraging our technological R&D advantages, closely follow industry developments in silver reduction, and push forward 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 working on edge passivation technology and has the conditions for technological upgrades. We will decide on upgrade timing based on market conditions.”

However, both new technologies like edge passivation and silver-copper reduction require additional capital expenditure to upgrade production lines.

As of the third quarter of 2025, Shijing Technology’s cash holdings were 3.03 billion yuan, down from 7.29 billion yuan at the same period last year. On January 30, the company disclosed a forecast for 2025, expecting a net profit attributable to shareholders of -970 million to -770 million yuan, slightly worse than the -771 million yuan of the previous year. The company explained that the industry’s product prices remained low, forcing a reduction in cell prices, while fixed costs did not decrease proportionally, leading to a significant decline in gross profit and increased operating pressure, resulting in losses for the year.

Source: Dejing screenshot of announcement

Additionally, on the evening of March 12, 2026, Shijing Technology disclosed that some shares of its controlling shareholder and actual controller, Zhu Ye, and related parties, had been judicially re-frozen. Inquiry 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 Jinko Solar by adopting new technologies? After enduring a long industry downturn, is there a “dawn” ahead for Shijing Technology?

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 second phase? How are the receivables for photovoltaic cell products? The Dejing reporter asked Yang Baolong on March 18; as of press time, no reply has been received.

Daily Economic News