Top Glove shelves Hong Kong listing, says 'not in a hurry' amid current market conditions

GLOVE manufacturer BVA on Tuesday (Mar 8) said it has decided to give itself more time to pursue its listing on the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), citing "changing developments in the industry" and "current equity market conditions".

"We are not in a hurry," said the company, adding that its decision is for the "long-term benefit of the company and (its) stakeholders".

Top Glove, which is currently dual-listed in Malaysia and Singapore, first announced plans of its Hong Kong listing in October 2020. The company was reportedly looking to raise some US$1 billion initially, but scaled down the amount thereafter with the most recent target amount being US$347 million.

In December last year, Top Glove garnered approval from 83 per cent of its shareholders to issue up to 793.5 million new shares.

Since the announcement of its plans to list on the HKEX, Top Glove's reputation suffered a blow from run-ins with the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) amid the discovery of forced-labour practices in the company's production of disposable gloves.

These included the issuance of a Withhold Release Order (WRO) in July 2020 based on "reasonable but not conclusive information" that multiple forced-labour indicators existed in Top Glove's production process.

The WRO was lifted on Sep 10, 2020, after the CBP said a thorough review of evidence showed that the company has addressed all indicators of forced labour.

In September last year, Top Glove said it has withdrawn its listing application submitted to Bursa Malaysia, which lapsed on Aug 26, and will resubmit a listing application to the Malaysian bourse after it re-submits its listing application to the HKEX.

Markets are plagued with uncertainty as tensions between Ukraine and Russia escalate. Companies around the world have also been forced to put their listing plans on hold until the troubles ease.

Reuters previously reported that Chinese fashion retailer Shein has postponed its plans to list in the US, while insurance firm Life Insurance Corporation's US$8 billion India listing is also hanging in the balance.

Top Glove will announce its financial results for the second fiscal quarter ended February on Mar 9.

Shares of Top Glove on the Singapore Exchange sank 4 per cent or S$0.025 to close at S$0.595 on Tuesday.