Malaysia’s Top Glove shrinks Hong Kong fundraising plan by 71 per cent on second try as stock price tumbles at home

World’s biggest medical glove maker shrinks Hong Kong IPO target by 71 per cent from the US$1.9 billion targeted in February

Top Glove’s share price has plunged 42 per cent in Kuala Lumpur after a year-long import ban by the US

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A worker inspecting disposable gloves at Top Glove’s factory in Shah Alam near Kuala Lumpur on August 26, 2020. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:30pm, 29 Oct 2021Updated: 11:08pm, 29 Oct 2021

Top Glove, the world’s largest producer of medical gloves, has slashed its fundraising target in Hong Kong in its second attempt to sell shares in the world’s third-largest capital market.

The Kuala Lumpur-based company would raise between HK$3.68 billion and up to HK$4.24 billion (US$545 million) inclusive of an overallotment option through an initial public offer (IPO) in Hong Kong, according to Top Glove’s statement to Bursa Malaysia before filing its preliminary listing document in Hong Kong today .

“After taking into account the prevailing share price of the company and the funding requirements of the group, the board has resolved to revise the proceeds to be raised from the proposed issuance,” Top Glove said in its filing to the Malaysian bourse.

Top Glove delayed its first Hong Kong IPO attempt in August, originally slated for US$1.9 billion, more than a year after the United States banned imports of its personal protection equipment, citing evidence of forced labour practices at its factories. The ban was lifted on September 10, after US authorities “had determined upon additional information that Top Glove’s products were no longer being produced by forced labour,” according to a statement.

That did not help Top Glove’s shares in Kuala Lumpur, which plunged 57 per cent between the US ban and its rescission, wiping out 36.6 billion ringgit (US$8.8 billion) in market value over 14 months. The company, along with the air ventilator maker Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics, were among the biggest winners during the Covid-19 pandemic, as worldwide demand for personal protection equipment (PPEs) and medical devices soared.