Billions of Dollars Earned on Latex Gloves
By Marko Vidrih on The Capital
Two billionaires from Malaysia, who earned their fortune with latex gloves, joined the list of the richest people in the world. The last who enter the club was Tai Kim Sim, the founder of Supermax Corp, Bloomberg writes.
The country in Southeast Asia is one of the largest manufacturers of latex gloves. It accounts for about 65 percent of global shipments. The increase in the production of personal protective equipment in Malaysia was associated with the outbreak of HIV infection in the 1980s.
The current surge in demand for gloves is due to the coronavirus pandemic. According to experts, the timing of the end of the epidemic is unknown, so you need to get used to living in new conditions and use gloves for various purposes.
In this regard, the success of Supermax Corp is especially interesting, analysts emphasized. Unlike other market players like Top Glove (shares rose 223 percent) and Hartalega (113 percent), which are mainly suppliers, the corporation acts as a major producer. Their shares grew the most, almost five times (by 394 percent).
The company manufactures around 24 billion gloves each year. According to the 2019 report, management intends to increase annual production to 44 billion gloves by 2024.
Although most analysts recommend buying Supermax Corp stocks, some experts see the risks. Revenues of Malaysian specializing in protective equipment can decrease if manufacturers from other countries, for example, from China, are activated.
Author: Marko Vidrih
Featured image credit: Unsplash
