Short selling, or selling borrowed shares with the hope of profiting when they fall, totaled a record of 33 percent of Sino-Forest’s shares outstanding shares as of May 31, up from 18 percent at the end of April and 13 percent at the beginning of the year, according to Data Explorers, a New York-based research firm. Short sellers have borrowed 82 percent of the company’s lendable supply, meaning there is limited equity available for short sellers to bet against.“There can be a lack of transparency with these types of companies,” Glenn Ko, a UBS AG fixed income analyst said today by phone from, noting a probe finding falsified financial statements at China Forestry Holdings Co. “Company filings are hard to verify and you’re never sure if you’re comparing apples with oranges unless you go to the plantations and check.”