By Saikat Chatterjee and Charlie Zhu
HONG KONG (Reuters) - China's Hanergy Thin Film Power Group (HK:0566) said its shares were suspended for trading after its stock fell nearly 50 percent in less than one hour on Wednesday - a sudden and brutal decline after a long run-up in market value that had left analysts puzzled.
The company, controlled by founder Li Hejun, said in a statement that trade had been suspended, "pending release of an announcement containing inside information."
Hanergy officials were not available to comment despite repeated calls to their Beijing offices. Li did not attend an annual general meeting in Hong Kong on Wednesday and the company's chief executive refused to comment on the share price plunge after the shareholder meeting, according to local online media reports.
Shares in Hong Kong can remain suspended for months.
Before the plunge, Hanergy had seen its value soar six-fold in the past year to $37 billion (24 billion pounds) - more than its nearest two dozen rivals combined - even as analysts and market watchers questioned the validity of some of its bullish proclamations.
More than 170 million Hanergy shares were traded in the first hour of Wednesday's trading session, far more than its daily average over the past month, according to Thomson Reuters data.
"I have no idea," said Penny Chen, an analyst at BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) in Shanghai when asked about the reason behind the plunge in its shares. "I am also trying to find out."
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange declined to comment on the reason for the suspension, saying it does not comment on individual companies. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, the local regulator, also declined to comment.
The rout follows a 37 percent drop in the value of shares of Chinese solar panel maker Yingli Green Energy Holding (N:YGE) overnight after it flagged its inability to continue as a "going concern" due to substantial indebtedness.
Other U.S.-listed Chinese companies in the solar sector fell between 1 percent and 6 percent overnight. The broader Hong Kong market (HSI) was down 0.3 percent.
Hanergy is involved in the manufacturing of equipment and production lines used to make thin-filmed solar panels that convert sunlight into electricity.
But it has mainly relied on its parent - Hanergy Holdings Group Ltd - for revenue and profits. A key concern cited by analysts is that Hanergy sells solar equipment to its parent company, which sells panels made using that equipment to both the listed company and other third parties.