First Solar has forecast 2010 profits of US$6.05-6.85 per share on revenues of US$2.7-2.9 billion. The Company said it plans to invest US$365 million of capital to add two production plants, consisting of four manufacturing lines each, to meet a demand pool.

First Solar has manufactured and shipped more than 1-gigawatt (GW) of its photovoltaic (PV) solar modules in 2009, becoming the first PV company to attain this production volume in a single year, according to the company.

Standard lithography uses a set of masks to create a pattern of structures in a photoresist that's exposed to ultraviolet light. The Taiwan team's process eliminates both the masks and the photoresist, relying instead on a metallorganic gas, an organic molecule studded with atoms of platinum.

In a second management revamp this year aimed at speeding up decision making, South Korea's Samsung Electronics named a new CEO and promoted Jay Y. Lee, son of former group chairman Lee Kun-hee, to the new post of chief operating officer.

Taiwan Stock Exchange Chairman Schive Chi said Chinese companies may list on the island as early as 2010. "When the ECFA is signed with China next year, it's a good opportunity for Chinese firms to list in Taiwan and we aim for that to happen in the next year..."