(Yicai) March 23 -- Shares in Shuangliang Eco-Energy Systems soared today even though the Chinese clean energy equipment maker and several of its executives have been slapped with a hefty CNY13 million (USD1.8 million) fine by the country’s securities watchdog for releasing misleading information last month about an order tied to US aerospace firm SpaceX.

Shuangliang’s share price [SHA:600481] closed up 4.6 percent at CNY7.19 (USD1). Earlier in the day it surged 7.7 percent to CNY7.40, giving the company a market valuation of more than CNY15 billion (USD2.1 billion).

The Jiangsu province branch of the China Securities Regulatory Commission has determined that Shuangliang failed to clearly and fully disclose key details when the Jiangyin-based firm said on social media on Feb. 12 that it had secured equipment orders connected to SpaceX, the company said yesterday.

The announcement pushed Shuangliang’s stock price up by the exchange-imposed limit that day and regulators quickly stepped in. The firm soon issued a clarification, saying that the order was worth just CNY13.9 million (USD2 million), amounting to 0.11 percent of its 2024 revenue. It also admitted that it was not working directly with Texas-based SpaceX, but was a non-exclusive, indirect supplier on the project.

Shuangliang's announcement was deemed to be misleading as it did not accurately and completely represent important information, such as how small the order actually was, that Shuangliang served as a non-exclusive indirect supplier and that it was just a one-off deal, the regulator said.

In fact, Shuangliang mainly makes energy-saving and water-saving equipment, renewable energy machinery and solar products. Its main customers are in industries such as renewable power generation, steel, coal chemicals and thermal power and not commercial aerospace.

Meanwhile, prices across the entire photovoltaic industry chain remain under pressure, compounded by fluctuating raw material costs and the impact of impairment provisions for certain fixed assets. Shuangliang anticipates a net loss of between CNY780 million (USD112.9 million) and CNY1.06 billion in 2025, a significant improvement on the losses of CNY2.1 billion (USD303.9 million) that it logged the previous year.

Editor: Kim Taylor