'Thanks to Rubber Gloves'... Malaysia's Market Cap Nearly Overtakes Singapore's

World's Largest Rubber Glove Manufacturer's Stock Soars... Surges to $379 Billion

[Asia Economy Kuala Lumpur Hong Seong-ah, Guest Reporter] There is a prediction that Malaysia's stock market capitalization will surpass Singapore's for the first time in 16 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decisive factor was the sharp rise in stock prices of Malaysian rubber glove manufacturers after the COVID-19 outbreak.

According to Bloomberg News on the 18th, as of the end of last month, Malaysia's stock market capitalization was $379 billion (approximately 448.9255 trillion KRW), a 41% increase compared to March. Meanwhile, Singapore's stock market capitalization shrank to $383 billion (approximately 453.6635 trillion KRW) this year, narrowing the gap between the two countries' market caps to about $4 billion (approximately 4.738 trillion KRW). Bloomberg analyzed this as a result of the surge in healthcare and technology companies due to COVID-19 and the stagnation of Singapore's foreign trade.

The increase in Malaysia's stock market capitalization was largely driven by rubber gloves, whose demand surged after the COVID-19 outbreak. Malaysia produces 65% of the world's rubber gloves. Local company Top Glove is the world's largest rubber glove manufacturer, accounting for 26% of the global market. Since the beginning of this month, Top Glove's stock price has risen 480% compared to the start of the year. Top Glove's market capitalization ranking rose from 34th at the beginning of the year to 3rd this month. Malaysia Public Bank ranked Top Glove as the second most valuable investment company. Malaysia's Supermax, the world's second-largest rubber glove manufacturer, reported a net profit of 399.62 million ringgit (approximately 112.8 billion KRW) as of the end of June, a 27-fold increase compared to the previous year. Supermax's stock price has risen more than 1000% since the beginning of the year.

On the other hand, Singapore's stock market is showing a downward trend. Its economy, which has relied more on intermediary trade than manufacturing, was hit hard as global lockdowns were imposed. Additionally, the tourism industry, which accounts for a large portion of the economy, fell into a slump, delivering a critical blow. Furthermore, being the third-highest in COVID-19 cases among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries is also considered a factor increasing uncertainty in economic recovery. Bloomberg also forecasted that not only market capitalization but Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP) will surpass Singapore's within this year. As of the end of last year, Malaysia's GDP was $365 billion (approximately 432.3425 trillion KRW), close to Singapore's $372 billion (approximately 440.634 trillion KRW).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.