Malaysia’s Top Glove eyes Hong Kong listing on back of coronavirus boom

The firm expects demand to continue post-pandemic, as gloves and other gear will still be required even after a Covid-19 vaccine is developed

If Top Glove manages to list in Hong Kong, it will be able to tap into a wider international investor base, one analyst says

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Workers pack gloves at a Top Glove factory in Klang outside Kuala Lumpur. Photo: Reuters

Published: 7:33pm, 18 Sep 2020Updated: 8:03pm, 18 Sep 2020

Plans by Malaysia’s Top Glove, the world’s largest glove manufacturer, to list in Hong Kong in the next six to nine months will boost its access to global capital markets and help it consolidate its dominant position in the industry, an analyst has said.

The firm – currently listed in Malaysia and Singapore – revealed its Hong Kong listing plans on Thursday when it announced it recorded 1.87 billion ringgit (US$454 million) profit for the financial year ending August 31.

Executive chair Lim Wee Chai said the company was already in talks to do so, as it makes a bid to become “visible in the world market”.

“We are talking to the bankers to see which is the most suitable method to go for listing in Hong Kong,” Lim said in a virtual briefing. “As a whole, we are a global company, we must expand our company to a bigger market.”

A worker at a Top Glove factory in Shah Alam, Malaysia. Photo: Reuters

Managing director Lee Kim Meow told media that the firm’s unprecedented boom that arose during the coronavirus pandemic was expected to continue, as gloves and other gear would still be required even after a Covid-19 vaccine was developed.