REC Jumps Most in Four Years on Rival’s Bankruptcy: Oslo Mover

Renewable Energy Corp. ASA (REC), the Norwegian solar company that shut its only local production unit this year, rallied the most since 2008 in Oslo after a rival filed for bankruptcy, raising chances an industry glut may ease.

REC surged 21 percent, the most since Nov. 24, 2008, to close at 0.84 krone after South Korea’s Hankook Silicon Co. filed for court receivership in Seoul. More than 73 million shares traded, more than triple the three-month daily average.

“Hankook accounts for about 6 percent of global production, so this contributes to a better balance in the market, which is positive for the players left,” Haakon Levy, an analyst at DNB Markets in Oslo, said today by telephone.

REC and other makers of polysilicon, the main raw material used in solar panels, are struggling with low prices after Asian peers expanded, outpacing demand growth. Hankook, owned by Osung LST Co. (052420), has about 14,000 metric tons of polysilicon capacity, compared with 21,500 tons at Sandvika-based REC, Levy said.

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