KUALA LUMPUR (March 1): Top Glove Corp Bhd executive chairman Tan Sri Dr Lim Wee Chai has purchased more shares of the group, as a continuous sell-off took the counter to an eight-month low. 

Lim has raised his direct shareholding in the group to 26.419% or 2.11 billion shares, after he acquired 4.04 million shares at RM4.9287 each, Top Glove’s filing with Bursa Malaysia today showed.  

Lim also has an indirect stake of 8.651% or 692.19 million shares in Top Glove, the group said. 

On Feb 24, Lim had purchased 3.77 million Top Glove shares at RM5.28922 each, raising his holdings in the group to 26.368%.

The current selling pressure in Top Glove and other glove counters has been attributed to the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccination schemes around the world. 

Lim’s latest share buyback also came, following news that the world’s number one rubber glove maker wants to raise RM7.7 billion via a primary dual listing in Hong Kong. 

Analysts expect the primary dual listing on the Hong Kong Exchange to dilute the group’s earnings per share for the financial year ending Aug 31, 2021 (FY21) to FY23. 

Top Glove shares fell 34 sen or 6.49% to close at RM4.90 today, its lowest level since June 2020. Since the beginning of 2021, the stock has fallen by 19.94%. 

Meanwhile, shares of rival glove manufacturers Hartalega Holdings Bhd and Supermax Corp Bhd tumbled too. Hartalega fell 62 sen or 6.20% to RM9.38, while Supermax declined 48 sen or 9.92% to RM4.36.  

The Bursa Malaysia healthcare index, which tracks share prices of rubber glove manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies and hospital operators, is down 12.36% since early January.  

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said that as of 11am today, 1.47 million people have registered their interest to receive the Covid-19 vaccination, through the MySejahtera app. 

He added that 17,064 people in the country have been vaccinated so far, led by Sarawak with 7,402 people, followed by Pahang (2,419) and Perak (1,277).