KUALA LUMPUR (March 11): Genting Malaysia Bhd (GenM) bought back two million shares on the open market today as the casino operator’s share price climbed to a 13-month high of RM3.15.

The block of shares was purchased in the price range between RM3.15 and RM3.16, translating into a total of about RM6.31 million, according to a filing with the local stock exchange today.

The latest purchase raised its net outstanding treasury shares to 286.81 million, equivalent to 4.83%.

GenM’s share price has shot up 33.5% over the last two months from RM2.36 on Jan 25 this year. The leap is even bigger from about a year ago, its share price rebounded 72% from RM1.83 on March 23, 2020.

The previous time that GenM bought back shares was nearly a year ago on March 18, 2020. It then bought four million shares for RM8.34 million at prices between RM2.04 and RM2.13 per share.

At 5pm today, GenM’s shares closed four sen or 1.29% higher at RM3.15, valuing it at RM18.7 billion. Some 15.51 million shares were traded today.