KUALA LUMPUR: Shares in Genting Plantations Bhd rose over 3.5% in early trade Tuesday following a report that the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has stepped up share borrowing in the former.

       The group rose 3.51%, or 23 sen to RM6.78, making it the top gainer on Bursa Malaysia. It has fallen some 30% so far this year.

       It was reported that the EPF has stepped up its Genting Plantations share borrowing to raise the EPF’s stake in the company to about 14% via Bursa Malaysia's securities borrowing and lending (SBL) facility.

       According to the business daily, the EPF, which is Genting Plantations' second largest shareholder, had raised its stake in Genting Plantations to 13.941% as at Aug 6, 2021, compared with 11.132% on Jan 4, 2021.

       The EPF held the 13.941% stake comprising 125.08 million shares in Genting Plantations, after the EPF borrowed 100 Genting Plantations shares via Bursa’s SBL facility as at Aug 6, 2021.

       The report said prior to the Aug 6 transaction, the EPF had borrowed 83,800 shares on Aug 5 and 800 shares on Aug 2, during which the EPF’s stake in Genting Plantations stood at 13.932%, Genting Plantations' filings on Aug 5 and 11, 2021 showed.