(Yicai Global) Feb. 27 -- Chinese renewable energy giant Hanergy Mobile Energy Holding Group has gotten the green light to take its Hong Kong-based solar power technology unit private. Trading of the subsidiary's stock has been halted for over three years due to a mysterious selloff.  

The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong has approved Hanergy's privatization offer regarding Hanergy Thin Film Power Group, the two Chinese firms said in a joint statement yesterday. 

Hanergy Thin Film's business will be transferred to a new company that aims to go public later, while shareholders of the former company will be offered equity of the new one, the statement added.

The stock of Hanergy Thin Film [HK:566] got suspended on July 2015, after its share price plunged in less than one hour in May, which sparked an investigation by the SFC. The equity traded at HKD7.88 (USD1) at its peak in April 2015. 

The Hong Kong bourse changed its rules last August to allow Main Board-listed firms that have been suspended for 12 straight months to exit the market. After this, the Beijing-based parent offered to buy back all the frozen shares of the unit for at least HKD5 per each last October. 

Before the suspension, Hanergy Thin Film's stock price was HKD3.9 each, with a market capitalization of HKD164.8 billion (USD21 billion). Chinese billionaire Li Hejun, the founder and chairman of the parent, held indirectly a 74 stake in the listed firm, according to a filing to the bourse in June 2017.

In the first half of 2018, Hanergy Thin Film's net profits rose to HKD7.3 billion from HKD224.8 million in the same period in 2017, due to new technological achievements.

Editor: Emmi Laine