Top Glove Corp., the world’s biggest rubber glove maker, is considering raising more than US$1 billion ($1.35 billion) 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 US$1 billion, Top Glove’s listing would be the biggest ever by a Malaysian company in Hong Kong, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Deliberations are ongoing and details of the offering including size could increase depending on investor feedback, the people said. A representative for Top Glove declined to comment ahead of an official announcement.
Top Glove is talking to bankers on how best to list in Hong Kong and the process will take six to nine months, its executive chairman Lim Wee Chai told reporters in a briefing last month. The company still expects “fresh highs” in the coming year after reporting a record net income of 1.29 billion ringgit ($421.3 million) in its fiscal fourth quarter.
Shares of Top Glove have surged more than 460% this year in Malaysia on the back of demand for medical protective gear amid the coronavirus pandemic, outperforming the country’s benchmark index, which has fallen about 3.7% in 2020.
