KUALA LUMPUR—Top Glove Corp. has filed an application to the Securities Commission of Malaysia concerning a proposed listing in Hong Kong.
The proposed listing will support the company's business growth, geographic expansion and strategic investment plans, the gloves maker said March 3.
Under the proposed dual primary listing on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (HKEX), Top Glove would undertake a global offering—reportedly valued at $1.9 billion—of its shares.
Top Glove will maintain its primary listing on the Bursa Securities Malaysia and its secondary listing on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd.
The listing in Hong Kong will help the group raise capital for business growth, geographic expansion and strategic investments and acquisitions, Top Glove executive chairman Tan Sri Dr Lim Wee Chai said.
"Top Glove has swiftly responded to heightened demand by our customers worldwide for our quality gloves and personal protective equipment," Tan said.
The aim, he said, is "to increase our production capacity, upgrade our facilities, and invest in new technologies to improve our offering and response-time for our customers around the world.
"(This) will help to further strengthen our position as the world's largest manufacturer of gloves and to enhance stakeholders' long-term value."
Top Glove is "pursuing technology-driven improvement initiatives (to raise) quality, efficiency, and innovation across production processes, digital and data analysis systems, and product range," added Top Glove's managing director, Dato' Lee Kim Meow.
With 21,000 employees, Top Glove has 47 manufacturing operations: 41 in Malaysia, four in Thailand and one each in China and Vietnam. The set-up includes 765 glove production lines with a combined capacity of 93 billion pieces per year. The manufacturing units comprise 36 glove factories, two latex concentrate plants, three chemical factories, one glove-former factory, two packaging material plants, one dental dam factory, one condom factory and one face mask factory.
