The meteoric rise has been unprecedented by Malaysian standards, with the top three glove makers adding about 109 billion ringgit ($32.52 billion) in combined market value this year. More than US$1 ($1.39) of every US$10 invested in the nation’s stock market right now is a bet on gloves – a feat that makes the Southeast Asian nation a play on global hygiene, much like South Korea and Taiwan are for semiconductors. Top Glove resumed its rally Friday even after the U.S. moved to block imports from two of its units.
(July 20): A relatively low-tech stock trade is making Tesla Inc.’s dizzying rally look like an under-performance.
In Southeast Asia, makers of rubber gloves are attracting more investor fervour than even the electric cars and flame throwers of Elon Musk. Top Glove Corp. is up 389% this year in Kuala Lumpur, the most on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, while Supermax Corp. has leaped more than 1,000%, compared with Tesla’s 259%. That’s due to the boom in glove demand thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, aided by a short-selling ban in Malaysia till year-end.
