WASHINGTON: The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has approved up to \$250 million in loans and investments for a major polysilicon manufacturing project in Oman, moving ahead despite opposition from the IFC’s US executive director, sources said.
According to two individuals familiar with the board’s decision, three other executive directors — representing Germany, the Netherlands, and the Nordic countries — abstained from voting on the United Solar Polysilicon project.
The \$1.6 billion facility, to be built in the Sohar Port Freezone, will have the capacity to produce 100,000 metric tonnes of polysilicon annually for solar power applications. United Solar’s chairman and founder, Zhang Longgen, a US citizen and former CEO of Chinese polysilicon maker Daqo New Energy Corp, has ties to China.
Key shareholders include Chinese private equity firm IDG Capital — which was listed by the US Defence Department last year for links to China’s military before being delisted in December — along with Zhang and Oman’s sovereign wealth fund.
