Top Glove mulls raising more than $1bn from Hong Kong listing
World’s biggest rubber glove maker is working with advisers on the potential share sale
Kuala Lumpur/Hong Kong — Top Glove, the world’s biggest rubber glove maker, is considering raising more than $1bn from a listing in Hong Kong, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Top Glove, whose shares are traded in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, is working with advisers on the potential share sale in Hong Kong, said the people, who asked not to be named as the information is private. At $1bn, Top Glove’s listing would be the biggest yet by a Malaysian company in Hong Kong.
Deliberations are ongoing and details of the offering including size could increase depending on investor feedback, the people said.
The company confirmed that it is evaluating a dual primary listing in Hong Kong, according to an exchange statement Monday, without providing details of the offering.
The proposed Hong Kong listing, if it proceeds, “will enable Top Glove to be present in a larger, more active and liquid stock exchange”, the company said. The listing will also diversify Top Glove’s investor base and provide a larger fundraising platform to support its growth, it said.
Top Glove is talking to bankers on how best to list in Hong Kong and the process will take six to nine months, executive chair Lim Wee Chai told reporters in a briefing in September. The company still expects “fresh highs” in the next year after reporting a record net income of 1.29-billion ringgit ($312m) in its fiscal fourth quarter.
Shares of Top Glove have surged more than 460% this year in Malaysia due to demand for medical protective gear amid the coronavirus pandemic, outperforming the country’s benchmark index, which has fallen about 4.4% in 2020.
Bloomberg