UPDATE 1-Hoku unit amends polysilicon deal with Tianwei

* Prices of deals slashed 8 percent to $468 mln

* Hoku's near-term shipping obligation eliminated

* Tianwei to pay $5 mln upfront of $7 mln prepayments

July 6 (Reuters) - A unit of Hoku Scientific Inc (HOKU.O) has amended two long-term polysilicon supply deals with Tianwei New Energy Wafer Co Ltd to eliminate Hoku's near-term shipping obligations in exchange for lowering the average prices of the deals by 8 percent.

The total prices for the 10-year contracts were reduced to about $468 million from about $511 million, Hoku said in a statement. Tianwei New Energy Wafer Co Ltd, a unit of Tianwei New Energy Holdings Co Ltd, will now pay $5 million upfront of the $7 million it was to pay Hoku Materials Inc on receiving shipment of the products by March 2010.

The remaining $2 million will be paid when Hoku commences shipments to the Chinese firm later in 2010, the company said.

These early shipments would have been additive to the long-term contract amounts and its failure to make these shipments would have resulted in a price penalty, the supplier of raw materials to the solar industry said.

Tianwei has already paid Hoku a combined $74 million in prepayments through April 30.

Shares of Hoku closed at $2.37 Monday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Arundhati Ramanathan in Bangalore; Editing by Unnikrishnan Nair)