More Jobs for Bay Area

Bay area is definitely on a roll with new job announcements....

One of the world's largest manufacturers of solar power systems has chosen San Francisco for its North American headquarters, a move that could bring hundreds of jobs and solidify the city's place at the forefront of clean energy.

Suntech Power Holdings Co. has subleased half of the eighth floor at 188 Embarcadero, said Roger Efird, president of Suntech America, its U.S. subsidiary. Up to 15 senior employees are expected to be working there within 30 days and more than 50 by the end of 2008. The company is "in merger and acquisition mode," Efird said, and depending on its success with that in the months to come, could easily employ "four, five, six times that many."

Based in Wuxi, China, Suntech rocketed to the top of the solar industry in a short time. Founded in 2001 by Zhengrong Shi, it employs 4,000 worldwide and maintains four factories in China. It listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2005 and now has a market cap of $6.45 billion. Shi, Suntech's 44-year-old CEO and chairman, made Forbes' list of the world's billionaires this year with an estimated net worth of $2.2 billion.

Suntech America has been operating out of Olney, Md., and was heavily recruited by cities and states around the country, including Oakland. An announcement of its move to San Francisco is expected within days.......

-Excerpt from San Francisco Business Times - by Elizabeth Browne