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PETALING JAYA: Shares of Top Glove Corp, the world’s largest manufacturer of rubber gloves, plunged in early trading today after the government said 28 of its factories in Klang, Selangor, will suspend operations in stages after an increase in Covid-19 cases among its workers.
Bloomberg reported that Top Glove shares fell as much as 7.5% this morning, marking their first decline in three days.
Yesterday, Chief Security Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said that the closure of the plants was to allow workers to undergo mandatory quarantine and controls.
“It makes me understand that today, there are 1,067 positive cases. Following the advice of the Ministry of Health, in today’s meeting (of the National Security Council), we have agreed to close these factories in stages, ”he said.
A record 1,884 new infections were reported nationwide yesterday, including 1,203 cases in Selangor alone, followed by 289 in Sabah and 196 in Kuala Lumpur.
Last week, the government imposed a lockdown on Top Glove’s dormitories in Selangor, a measure that the company says will affect 5,700 workers, or 27% of total employees.
According to Bloomberg, the new closures come at a time when the company’s stock has come under pressure from news about the progress of a Covid-19 vaccine in recent weeks.
He said the stock is down 19% this month, reducing its spectacular rally this year to around 342%.
He also said that Top Glove has more than 21,000 employees who produce 90 billion gloves a year on 750 production lines.
