PROBABLY as a measure to gear up for its dual primary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) in 1Q 2022, Top Glove Corp Bhd has appointed two Hong Kong citizens, Lester Garson Huang and Anthony Lo, as the group’s new independent non-executive directors (INEDs) with effect from last Friday (Jan 7).
Huang, a practising solicitor and notary, is currently the managing partner and co-chairman of P.C. Woo & Co, a legal firm in Hong Kong.
He currently serves as an INED on the Boards of Hong Kong public listed companies Guoco Group Ltd, Lam Soon Hong Kong Ltd and Kidsland International Holdings Ltd.
Until Nov 14 last year, Huang was a non-executive director of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) where he also chaired the Investor and Financial Education Council, a subsidiary of the SFC.
His public roles also include serving as council chairman of City University of Hong Kong and chairman of the Social Welfare Advisory Committee of the Labour and Welfare Bureau.
Meanwhile, Lo who is a chartered accountant registered with the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants serves as INED on the Boards of Hong Kong public listed companies Lam Soon Hong Kong, Playmates Holdings Ltd, Tristate Holdings Ltd and Convenience Retail Asia Ltd.
“Top Glove welcomes the addition of Huang and Lo who bring with them vast experience as INEDs on companies listed on the HKEX which has high standards of corporate governance,” the world’s largest glove maker pointed out in a media statement.
“Given their backgrounds, the company believes they will bring unique perspectives and valuable expertise to the board, further strengthening the group’s corporate governance. The company looks forward to their positive contributions as it works towards its goal of becoming a Forbes and Fortune Global 500 Company by the year 2030.”
To foster objective and independent deliberation, review and decision making of the board, Top Glove said it has limited the tenure of INEDs to nine years without further extension in line with the Malaysian Corporate Governance Code.
On Jan 6, Puan Sri Tong Siew Bee who is Top Glove’s co-founder and wife of its other co-founder and chairman Tan Sri Lim Wee Chai, retired as non-executive director of the company.
According to Top Glove’s website, the 63-year-old Tong was appointed as the group co-founder on Sept 4, 2000 and was subsequently re-designated as non-independent and non-executive director on May 8, 2019.
Following her footstep is INED Datuk Lim Han Boon, 64, who was appointed to his position on Feb 21, 2011.
On Dec 8, Top Glove announced that its shareholders had voted in favour of the company’s proposed dual primary listing on HKEX at its extraordinary general meeting (EGM) which also culminated in the approval of the company’s constitution amendments so as to be aligned with the provisions of the relevant laws, listing rules and regulations in Hong Kong.
At the close of today’s mid-day trading, Top Glove was up 4 sen or 1.62% to RM2.51 with 11.52 million shares traded, thus valuing the company at RM20.6 bil. – Jan 10, 2022
