KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 — Top Glove Corporation Bhd’s shares and warrants were actively traded today following the bonus share exercise of up to 5.48 billion new shares, on the basis of two bonus shares for one existing share (two for one), that took effect today.

As at 5pm, the rubber glove maker’s shares declined 32 sen to RM8.37 with 106.36 million shares transacted.

“We want to make our shares affordable especially to retail investors and we want them to want to invest in the company.

“Otherwise, assuming our share price is above thousands of ringgit, if we have not done any bonus shares since listing, they can’t invest in the stock. At this current level of RM8 they can still buy,” executive director Lim Cheong Guan told Bernama.

He said this is the seventh time the company has proposed the bonus share and on a normal basis, Top Glove announced the share bonus when the share price hit RM10.

He added that this is the first time the company’s share price has spiked above RM25.

Meanwhile, an analyst said Top Glove’s share price could rise beyond RM8 due to buying interest.

“I reckon Top Glove wants to maintain their attractiveness for retail investors,” he said.

The company issued bonus shares on financial year 2002 (FY2002: 3 for 10), FY2003: 2 for 5, FY2007: 2 for 5, FY2010: 1 for 1, FY2016: 1 for 1, FY2019: 1 for 1, and FY2020: 2 for 1.

The company had on August 18, upon shareholders’ approval during the extraordinary general meeting, set September 4 as the entitlement time of the bonus issue while the listing and quoting of the bonus shares on Bursa Malaysia would be on September 7.

However, Bursa Malaysia clarified that on the basis of the settlement taking place after September 4 with the bonus issue of Top Glove shares, any shareholder who is entitled to receive Top Glove bonus issue shares might sell any or all of his Top Glove shares arising from the bonus issue beginning at the ex-date (September 3).

Debuting on Bursa Malaysia on March 27, 2001 and promoted to the Main Board on May 16, 2002, Top Glove’s paid-up capital is RM1.58 billion with the number of shares in circulation currently at 8.12 billion shares.

As at May 31, its total equity stood at RM4.69 billion and market cap was RM71.1 billion. — Bernama