Glove Makers Catalyse Malaysia’s Competitive Market Value

Malaysia to Surpass Singapore in Market Capitalisation

2020 is turning out to be an astonishingly positive year for Malaysia as it rakes up USD 379 billion dollars in market value. To put things in perspective, Malaysia is a stone’s throw from surpassing Singapore, who is leading with only USD 4 billion dollars away. For the first time in 16 years, Malaysia is close to overtaking Singapore in the market value race and is expected to do so in the near future through glove makers.

Malaysia’s Positive Numbers

The neighbouring country’s equity market capitalization surged during the pandemic; thanks to the manufacturing industry, most particularly, the glove and rubber industry. While most countries were badly hit and had their economies crippled, Malaysia has been able to sustain and exponentially increase its market value by a whopping 41%.

Fits Like a Glove

The secret ingredient to Malaysia’s rise to prominence is none other than its in-demand gloves and glove makers. During mid-March, the nation was experiencing an increasing number of COVID-19 cases, which made the government enact the Movement Control Order or MCO. In this lockdown period, many standard operating procedures were introduced, which created an increasing demand for more rubber gloves. From there and then onwards, Malaysia began supplying to a rising domestic and global demand. It is noteworthy that Malaysians have dominated the local equities market in 2020, with net outflows by foreign investors amounting up to USD 4.2 billion.

The nation’s leading glove maker, Top Glove Corp, became the second most valuable stock in the country with a 440% surge. It also unseated former contender, Public Bank, who previously held the seat of the second most valuable stock. Not only that, Supermax Corp, a fellow glove maker, has leapt over 1,100% in stock value.  

What Does the Future Hold?     

The outbreak of COVID-19 took the world by surprise, leading to a slump in the global economy. Many countries are starting to adapt to the new norm and are beginning to diversify their businesses. Countries like Malaysia are less affected as its primary source of market derives from the manufacturing industry. Although it has slowed the economy down in some ways, Malaysia is still advancing an exponential growth in the said industry.