Sino Hua-An suspends coke production at China plant

PETALING JAYA: Sino Hua-An International Bhd has temporarily shut down production of its coke manufacturing plant in Linyi city, China to comply with stricter environmental laws enforced by the local authorities there.
The group's subsidiary, LinYi Yehua Coking Co Ltd China, received notification from the local authorities to stop production temporarily pending completion of the compliance inspection.
It explained that the local Ministry of Environmental Protection of China (MOEP) recently initiated a more stringent scrutiny onto heavy industries - including steel mills, coke production plants, cement plants, aluminum smelters, glass panel plants - perceived to be polluting and having excess capacity in Linyi city.
"However, all steel mills and coke producers, regardless of their standards of compliance, have been instructed to stop production temporarily until such time when the assessment by MOEP can be concluded and appropriate clearance is given by the local government," it said.
Hua-An noted that the company had already begun implementing technical improvements relating to the dust collection equipment and desulphurization equipment in FY2014 which will amount to about RMB28 million (RM16.3 million) and RMB40 million (RM23.2 million) respectively.
Sino Hua-An is the first red chip counter listed on Bursa Malaysia via a reverse takeover of Antah Holdings Bhd in 2007 whereby its business operation is wholly and exclusively located at Linyi City.