Scott Murdoch and Liz Lee

SYDNEY/KUALALUMPUR (Reuters – Malaysia’s Top Glove Corp Bhd announced Tuesday that it had postponed a plan of raising $347m in a Hong Kong listing, due to increased market uncertainties following Russia’s invasion.

Manufacturer, who benefited from disposable gloves demand during the COVID-19 pandemic has both a Kuala Lumpur primary and secondary listing. It had also planned to list in Hong Kong as a way of expanding its investor base.

Lee Kim Meow explained to Reuters that “due to changing developments in industry and current equity market conditions”, he decided to allow more time for the exercise in Hong Kong. He was referring to market sentiment’s impact on Russia’s military actions.

According to him, the largest manufacturer of medical gloves in the world was not in any hurry to list because the goal was long-term.

Top Glove shares that are Kuala Lumpur-listed fell 6.3% following the news. In 2022, the stock fell 31%.

In the initial goal of raising $1 billion, the glove-maker initially planned to do a dual primary listing.

The December meeting of shareholders approved the issue of up to 793.5 millions shares. This would raise approximately $347 million at today’s price of 1.83 Ringgit.

Top Glove was originally planning to open the deal in February. However, Russia’s invasion has impacted investor sentiment and heightened market volatility have impacted the listing progress. A person who has direct knowledge of this matter spoke to Reuters earlier. He declined to be identified because the information wasn’t yet available.

Russia describes its actions in Ukraine as a “special operations”.

SHARE SALES HALT

As the invasion continues, more Asian share sales have been put on hold.

MSCI’s broadest index of world shares has dropped 13% year-to-date, as geopolitical uncertainty causes investors to flee equities and pile into safer assets.

According to Reuters, Shein, a Chinese fast fashion retailer, has delayed its U.S. listing plans due to political upheaval.

Life Insurance Corp’s plans to raise $8 Billion in India’s biggest-ever initial public offerings (IPOs) before March 31st are also in doubt.

Sumet Singh of Aequitas Research, who published on Smartkarma said that the prospects for ever-increasing sanctions against Russia and ongoing crackdowns on real estate and tech in China all portend a quiet period for equity capital markets activity until the commodity and equity markets settle down.

Hong Kong saw the slowest start for IPOs in six years, with $1.17 trillion raised in 2022.

This compares to $10.16 trillion in 2021, the lowest level since 2016.