A slew of factors is persuading companies to expand abroad to access the global market

Rising costs and steep anti-dumping duties in the United States and Europe, coupled with a desire to expand overseas, are increasingly driving major Chinese solar panel makers' new investments away from the domestic market, the world's largest, to neighboring Thailand.

Despite slowing economic growth in China, many domestic solar power companies are making a beeline for Thailand, where supportive government policies, growing demand and a host of other factors combine to offer high-growth opportunities and low-duty export potential.