GCL Technology, one of China’s largest producers of raw materials for solar panels, is planning to broaden its business by making polysilicon for applications in electronic and solar-energy industries. The Hong Kong-listed firm, formerly known as GCL-Poly Energy, signed a framework agreement with semiconductor display and materials maker TCL Technology. They aim to invest 12 billion yuan (US$1.9 billion) in a silicon materials plant in Hohhot, the capital of the northern autonomous region of Inner Mongolia. “The parties intend to carry out in-depth cooperation through investing in new [solar-grade] and electronic-grade silicon material projects,” GCL said in an exchange filing…