World Bank's IFC approves Oman polysilicon project loan over US objection

9/8/2025 12:11

The World Bank's International Finance Corporation on Friday approved a loan and investment worth up to $250 million in a polysilicon manufacturing project in Oman for solar power applications, over the objections of the IFC's U.S. executive director, two sources familiar with the board vote said.



Three other executive directors on the IFC board abstained from the vote on the United Solar Polysilicon project, including those representing Germany, the Netherlands and Nordic countries, the sources said.



United Solar plans to build a $1.6 billion plant to produce 100,000 metric tons of polysilicon a year in Oman's Sohar Port Freezone. The company has some links to China, partly through its chairman and founder, Zhang Longgen, a U.S. citizen who was previously CEO of Chinese polysilicon maker Daqo New Energy Corp .



A key United Solar shareholder, Chinese private equity investor IDG Capital, spent much of last year on a U.S. Defense Department list of companies with links to China's military before its removal in December. Other shareholders include Zhang and Oman's sovereign wealth fund.