Science & Technology
Science and Technology
Science and Technology
Tue, August 18, 2009
Mon, August 17, 2009 Hoku Scientific, Inc.: Hoku Materials Granted Foreign Trade Zone Status by U.S. Commerce Department
POCATELLO, ID--(Marketwire - August 17, 2009) - Hoku Materials, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hoku Scientific, Inc. (
Hoku reported that it expected the subzone status would contribute to the facility's long-term global competitiveness, explaining that FTZ procedures would exempt the Company from customs duty payments on foreign materials used in export production.
Specifically, the ruling will allow Hoku to import foreign-sourced raw materials in a duty-free status, provided they are destined for export overseas as components of finished polysilicon. Under its existing customer supply agreements, more than 80% of Hoku's total annual production capacity of polysilicon, and 100% of what has been presold to date, is destined for export to China, meaning that an equivalent percentage of the Company's raw material inputs would be eligible for import in a duty-free status.
Hoku explained that it had been granted subzone status under the existing Foreign Trade Zone established for Boundary County in Northern Idaho, the only FTZ in the state. Hoku Materials' facility will be the only designated Foreign Trade Subzone in Idaho.
"We are pleased to have been granted the Foreign Trade Subzone status," said Dustin Shindo, chairman and chief executive officer of Hoku Scientific. "This ruling helps ensure that our facility will remain globally competitive over time."
"For many reasons, Hoku is a unique case study in today's economy," said Gynii Gilliam, Executive Director of the Bannock Development Corporation. "Hoku's Pocatello plant will not only be a net exporter to China, but thanks to the Commerce Department's ruling, it will have the ability to compete internationally on a level playing field. This outcome is not only good for Idaho's emerging clean energy manufacturing base, but it is good for the U.S. renewable energy industry in general."
When complete, the Hoku Materials facility is expected to produce up to 4,000 metric tons of polysilicon per year.
About Hoku Scientific, Inc.
Hoku Scientific (
Hoku®, Hoku Scientific®, Hoku Solar™ and Hoku Fuel Cells™ are trademarks of Hoku Scientific, Inc., and Hoku Materials™ is a trademark of Hoku Materials, Inc.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve many risks and uncertainties. These statements relate to the engineering, procurement, and construction of Hoku Materials's planned polysilicon production plant; Hoku Materials's ability to successfully derive revenues from the sale of polysilicon; the ability of Hoku Materials to engineer and construct a production plant for polysilicon; its ability to produce up to 4,000 metric tons of polysilicon per year, or at all; its ability to operate an internationally competitive polysilicon production business; its ability to import foreign-sourced raw materials used in polysilicon production and to export the finished polysilicon overseas; its ability to be a net exporter to China; its ability to receive payment on presold polysilicon under existing polysilicon supply contracts and to perform under such contracts; Hoku Scientific's future financial performance; its business strategies and plans; and objectives of management for future operations. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as "anticipate," "believe," "can," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would" and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Hoku Scientific's actual results, performance, time frames or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, time frames or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Given these risks, uncertainties and other factors, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. In evaluating these statements, you should specifically consider the risks described in Hoku Scientific's respective filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as applicable. Except as required by law, Hoku Scientific assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.
