Chairman Shan couldn't be reached for comment immediately. Calls to the company's headquarters in Hangzhou and its factory in Xiaoshan were answered by company officials who declined to give their names or the chairman's whereabouts.

Hangxiao shares rose by the 10 percent limit for six consecutive trading sessions in February before being suspended. On March 13, Hangxiao said it had signed a contract with a Hong Kong-based company to supply building products for projects in Angola.

The orders are worth more than 18 times the company's 2006 revenue. China's exports to Angola totaled $894 million last year, according to the commerce ministry.

Company Apology

The Angola deal may not be fully completed because there are no default clauses in the contract, Hangxiao Steel said on April 2. The contract, which includes supplies of steel structures, door and window frames, may not contribute to earnings for two years, it said in the March 13 statement.

Corruption and accounting scandals, price manipulation and brokerage collapses helped drive China's stock market down by more than half in the four years through July 2005. The benchmark CSI 300 Index has since risen more than fourfold and is up 83 percent this year.

Hangxiao was established in 1994 and is controlled by Shan, who held 37 percent of the company at the end of last year.

In a separate statement, Hangxiao apologized to investors after receiving a notice from the stock exchange criticizing the company and executives for violating disclosure rules.

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