Chinese-based Sino Hua-An International Bhd has been on Malaysia's stock exchange today in what will be the bourse's first "red chip" stock.

Sino Hua-An International is listed on the main board of Bursa Malaysia in place of Antah Holdings Bhd, after the restructuring scheme of Antah.

"As part of the restructuring scheme, Sino Hua-An International Berhad ... will be listed on the Main Board under the Industrial Products sector," the stock exchange said in a statement.

Sino Hua-An's revenues and profits are derived almost entirely from its business as a metallurgical coke producer in China, a key ingredient in steel manufacturing.

Sino Hua-An's managing director Liu Guodong said the company was the first true "red chip", or China-based company, to be listed on the Malaysian exchange, Bernama reported.

Bernama said the stock had been oversubscribed by 21 times, indicating positive interest from investors.

Plant in Shandong

Sino Hua-An's plant is in Shandong, where half of China's coal reserves are located. The company has an annual capacity of more than 1.2 million tonnes of metallurgical coke, its main source of income.

Its annual production of metallurgical coke in 2005 totalled 1.324 million tonnes, Bernama reported.

The company's executive chairman Tunku Naquiyuddin Tuanku Ja'afar said the production was currently only for the Chinese market.

Tunku Naquiddin, who is also the chairman of Antah Holdings, is the single largest shareholder with a 27 percent stake in Sino Hua-An.