Canadian Solar Partners with Menora Mivtachim to Invest in Solar Power Projects in Israel

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Oct 17, 2017, 07:00 ET

GUELPH, Ontario, Oct. 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. (the "Company" or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar power companies, today announced that a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company and a few subsidiaries of Menora Mivtachim Holdings Ltd. ("Menora Mivtachim"), one of Israel's five largest insurance and finance groups, entered into a joint venture agreement with the aim to invest in the development, financing, construction and ownership of solar power projects in Israel.

A total of US$60 million is expected to be raised from Menora Mivtachim and Canadian Solar, with each party contributing an equal investment amount. The joint venture will finance the solar projects awarded by Israeli Electricity Authority under the solar power tenders and other solar projects to be developed under the partnership.

"Our partnership with Menora Mivtachim is a milestone achieved by Canadian Solar in this emerging market where the adoption of solar is growing rapidly. This partnership will leverage Canadian Solar's proven track record in developing and building solar power projects, with Menora Mivtachim's financial strength and credibility to create an industry leader in the local market," said Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar.

About Menora Mivtachim

Menora Mivtachim Holdings Ltd. is one of Israel's five largest insurance & finance groups. The group specializes in asset management, manages the largest pension fund in Israel - 'New Mivtachim', and is the No.1 General Insurer in Israel and the market leader in Motor Insurance sector. The group operates through its subsidiaries, in all sectors of Life Insurance, Long/Mid/Short -Term Savings, General Insurance and Health Insurance. In addition, the group is active in the capital markets and finance sectors, including Mutual Funds Management, Financial Portfolio Management, Underwriting and worldwide real estate investments.

About Canadian Solar Inc.

Founded in 2001 in Canada, Canadian Solar is one of the world's largest and foremost solar power companies. As a leading manufacturer of solar photovoltaic modules and provider of solar energy solutions, Canadian Solar also has a geographically diversified pipeline of utility-scale power projects in various stages of development. In the past 16 years, Canadian Solar has successfully delivered over 22 GW of premium quality modules to over 100 countries around the world. Furthermore, Canadian Solar is one of the most bankable companies in the solar industry, having been publicly listed on NASDAQ since 2006. For additional information about the company, follow Canadian Solar on LinkedIn or visit www.canadiansolar.com.

Safe Harbor/Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release regarding the Company's expected future shipment volumes, gross margins, business prospects and future results, are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These statements are made under the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by such terms as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "estimates," the negative of these terms, or other comparable terminology. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include general business and economic conditions and the state of the solar industry; governmental support for the deployment of solar power; future available supplies of high-purity silicon; demand for end-use products by consumers and inventory levels of such products in the supply chain; changes in demand from significant customers; changes in demand from major markets such as Japan, the U.S., India and China; changes in customer order patterns; changes in product mix; capacity utilization; level of competition; pricing pressure and declines in average selling prices; delays in new product introduction; delays in utility-scale project approval process; delays in utility-scale project construction; cancelation of utility-scale feed-in-tariff contracts in Japan; continued success in technological innovations and delivery of products with the features customers demand; shortage in supply of materials or capacity requirements; availability of financing; exchange rate fluctuations; litigation and other risks as described in the Company's SEC filings, including its annual report on Form 20-F filed on April 27, 2017. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance, or achievements. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. All information provided in this press release is as of today's date, unless otherwise stated, and Canadian Solar undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

SOURCE Canadian Solar Inc.