The performance of Sina.com on the US NASDAQ-AMEX Stock Market is expected to be a litmus test for other Chinese Internet operators who expect to go public this year.

Sina.com, one of the first pure Chinese Internet listings on the NASDAQ, rose almost 22 per cent on its first trading day on a stock market recently shaken by a deep losses.

Shares of the Cayman Islands-registered company gained US$3.69 to close at US$20.69 per share on Thursday.

"The reception of Sina.com will add some motivation to other Chinese Internet players though the initial price did not meet investors' expectations," said Hugo Shong, vice-chairman of IDG Technology Venture Investment.

Analysts said Sina's timing was less than perfect because of the high-profile reaction to the Microsoft anti-trust case decision.

Given the active listing preparations made by other leading Chinese Internet operators, analysts warned they should take a prudent attitude towards going public.

The NASDAQ stock index slipped from over 5,000 in March to 3,676 on Thursday.

However, a US investment bank analysts said the NASDAQ still has a compelling demand for China-concept Internet candidates because of their strong market potential and the limited amount of similar Chinese listings.

Investors had high expectations for Sina.com's listing after China.com, a Hong Kong-registered web portal, and telecom network supplier AsiaInfo, were hotly pursued on the NASDAQ.

Analysts said the fact that the listing arm of Sina doesn't include its popular Chinese-language Web portal also affected its performance in the stock market. China prohibites foreign investment in Internet sites.

It's almost the same business model as used by other Chinese web companies to bid for a US listing while complying with Chinese Government regulations. Cayman Island-registered Netease.com and Delaware-registered Sohu.com have said that they are seeking NASDAQ listings.

"We are still waiting a final regulation from the government on how to treat foreign capital's involvement in the Internet sector," said Shong.