KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 20): Current headwinds faced by glove makers are unlikely to dissipate in the near future, with Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) Research expecting the operating environment to remain challenging in the first half of next year (1H22). However, the research firm’s analyst Sophie Chua Siu Li in a note on Monday (Dec 20) said glove makers' strong cash position should help them to navigate through these challenging times and withstanding any impending price war that might come their way. "In our view, glove prices are likely to reach pre-Covid-19 levels by the second quarter of next year,” she said. However, with glove prices slowly approaching pre-Covid-19 levels, she opined that restocking activities could gradually resume in 1H22. “That said, we expect utilisation rates of glove producers to still remain below pre-Covid-19 levels of 80% to 85% in 1H22 due to overall softening of demand,” she said.
