KUALA LUMPUR – Shares of Top Glove Corp Bhd dived to their lowest in three months, dragged down by the company’s confirmation that a security guard died after contracting Covid-19, the first fatality since an outbreak at the company’s dormitories and factories in Meru last month.
At the close today, stocks of the world’s largest rubber glovemaker shed 60 sen or 8.7% to settle at RM6.30.
In morning trade, its shares, which opened at RM6.64, climbed as high as RM6.66 on Bursa Malaysia before it lost steam to weaken as low as RM6.25.
A total of 8.1 billion shares were traded with a market capitalisation of RM51.64 billion.
Top Glove shares climbed as high as RM9.76 a year ago.
“Investors were spooked by the death of the worker, raising concerns on whether factory operations can reach optimum level.
“But I think Top Glove shares still have upside potential and the fundamentals of the company is still solid as demand for rubber gloves is still stable as total Covid-19 deaths have already reached 1.6 million worldwide,” an analyst at Maybank Securities told The Vibes.
Yesterday, The Vibes reported that a Nepali security guard working at Top Glove died of Covid-19 complications.
Yam Narayan Chaudhary, who was stationed at Top Glove’s 13th factory in Meru, Klang, died on Saturday after the company admitted him to the nearest hospital on November 21.
The source said the duties of security guards had been increased at Top Glove during the movement control order in the absence of thermal scanners, and they had been responsible for taking people’s temperatures with handheld scanners.
The outbreak last month at Top Glove facilities forms one of the biggest clusters in the country, in which more than 5,000 workers have tested positive.
A number of its factories has since been forced to close.
Separately, Reuters reported that Top Glove had fired whistle-blower Yubaraj Khadka, also a Nepali, for sharing photos of fellow employees crowding in a factory with a workers’ rights campaigner.
Top Glove has parried claims of abuse saying that it has already spent millions to improve living conditions in Meru and will be investing a further RM100 million in building new hostels and amenities for 7,300 workers over the next three years. – The Vibes, December 14, 2020
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