KUALA LUMPUR (April 20): IOI Corp Bhd dropped as much as 11 sen or 2.46% this morning due to lack of confidence by investors on the future direction of the oil palm planter following the suspension of its Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification.

The counter pared losses to trade at RM4.38 with 1.93 million shares changing hands at 10.32am.

IOI Corp is one of the top losers in the local bourse this morning at the point of writing.

Interpacific Securities Sdn Bhd remisier Sam Ng said the selling is due to investor's lack of confidence towards the future direction of the company after its RSPO certification was suspended.

"The management needs to strengthen its corporate governance to gain back the confidence of the investors," he told theedgemarkets.com.

In addition, he said, the sell down today could also result from investors taking cue from institution investor Employees Provident Fund which sold a total of 7.79 million shares on April 13 and 14, but only acquired 2.29 million shares on April 11 and 12.

Recall that on April 8, three of the world's major food and consumer products companies, namely Unilever, Mars Inc and Kellogg's Co, were reported to be in the process of dropping IOI Corp as supplier following the suspension of the RSPO certificates.

IOI Corp was informed by the RSPO secretariat on March 25 that its RSPO certification for the entire group's palm oil production would be suspended from April 4, following complaints by non-governmental organisations about violation of RSPO criteria in the plantation estates of IOI Corp's Indonesian subsidiaries.

The suspension will last until the submitted action plan is accepted and when peer reviews of high-conservation value assessments have been performed.