KUALA LUMPUR (March 11): FGV Holdings Bhd clarified on Friday (March 11) the plantation group "does NOT" appoint employment agencies or companies in India or other countries to hire plantation workers as alleged in advertisements and letters.

"FGV has also never used the services [of] Searising Overseas Training & Manpower Solution Pvt Ltd or authorised the company to hire workers for FGV," the group said in a Facebook post.

FGV urged its stakeholders and other parties to be careful when receiving information and advertisements on its hiring process from third parties, and to verify the information directly with the group.

According to the group's website, its global presence comprise operations in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Pakistan, Turkey, France, Spain and the US.

FGV said it is one of the world’s largest producers of crude palm oil (CPO), accounting for about 15% of Malaysia’s annual CPO production.

"FGV is supported by a strong workforce of more than 45,000 people. We are focused primarily on three core business sectors — plantation, sugar and logistics," it explained.

At 5pm on Friday, FGV closed down two sen or 1.03% at RM1.93, bringing it a market capitalisation of about RM7.04 billion.

The group has 3.65 billion outstanding shares, according to its latest quarterly financial report.