Malaysian luck a fishy business


Each fish is injected with a tiny microchip

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (CNN) -- A Malaysian fish breeding company made a splash with its market debut this week as investors paid almost two-and-a-half times the IPO price for a stake in the business.

It was the first listing of its kind in Malaysia and the company, Xian Leng Holdings, is finding a lot of truth in the belief their fish are supposed to bring good fortune.

Part of the luck is due to the "Arowana" or "Dragon" fish, which was nearly hunted out of existence by 1980 because of their value to believers of the eastern philosophy, Feng Shui.

Malaysian government efforts and the implementation of high-tech breeding methods have helped the fish thrive again.

Fish farms are rapidly increasing in number and are now allowed to raise and sell Arowana internationally.

"On the Chinese side, we believe that this is a Feng Shui fish, that it can bring luck, happiness for the family and the business people. This is why this fish people are willing to pay money, higher value on this," says Xian Leng Managing Director Ng Huan Tong.

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With a potential price of up to $50,000 a tail, it's no wonder fish farmers are employing a bit of high tech.

When the fish reach two months in age, workers sedate and inject each Arowana with a tiny coded microchip, making them easier easy to track from the raising process through to the selling floor.

From the 50-acre fish farm, the Arowana are sold throughout Asia.

"At the moment actually, 90 percent of the turnover is export," says Xian Leng Executive Director Chua Choon Seng.

"The main importers are Japan, they take up about 55 percent of the turnover and 25 percent goes to Hong Kong, China. Another 15 percent goes to Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand."

Thought to be the largest in the world, the Xian Leng fish farm has thus far defied a weak financial environment.

The company's initial public offering managed to double its stock price earlier this month, showing that there may be something to that good luck fish after all.