(Yicai Global) May 30 -- Chen Dejun, chairman and an actual controller of courier firm STO Express, plans to increase his stake in the company by between CNY400 million (USD62 million) and CNY800 million.

Chen will use his own money or borrowed cash to fund the increase, the Shanghai-based company said in a statement yesterday. He will purchase the shares on the secondary market within six months from the statement.

As of yesterday, Chen directly owned 43.4 million shares in the company, giving him a more than 2.8-percent stake. His sister Chen Xiaoying, acting in concert, held nearly 40.6 million shares for an almost 2.7-percent share in the company. The pair also hold stock indirectly through controlling shareholder Shanghai Deyin Investment Holdings, which owns nearly 54 percent of the firm.

STO's share price tailed off at the end of last year and sat at CNY23.06 (USD3.6) as of 2 p.m. today, down from a minor peak of CNY28.4 in November. Its stock is currently running at its lowest since the end of 2015, just before shares soared to CNY47.3 to CNY13.7 over the New Year period.

The firm earned CNY37.8 million (USD5.9 million) in net profit on CNY2.9 billion (USD450 billion) over the first quarter this year, up 17 percent and 33.5 percent on the year, according to the company's earnings report.

Editor: James Boynton