RUBBER NEWS 2022

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Come May 15, all economic sectors in Malaysia would have fully reopened. The last sector to reopen involves the nightclubs, which would resume business on that date, much to the delight of their operators, whose premises have been forcibly shut since March 2020.

As the nation inches closer to pre-pandemic “normalcy”, are we ready to embrace the business landscape that has been reshaped by Covid-19?

Malaysians are often too rigid when it comes to embracing change. As a businessman with extensive dealings with China, I can attest that we are worlds apart when it comes to dexterity and adaptability. We are often more reactive than proactive. This is a liability in the cutthroat globalised world, where delays and hesitation can result in billions of ringgit in losses.

Rightfully, the pandemic should have been a wake-up call to Malaysian businesses to become more agile and forward-looking. Alas, this is not happening.

I would like to cite two examples. The first is the rubber glove industry since I am a vendor in this sector. During the pandemic, as local companies were drowning in a sea of red ink, glove manufacturers were making a killing following the global spike in demand for the medical gloves due to the pandemic.

Overnight, companies like Top Glove and Hartalega became investors’ darlings in the midst of a global recession. Even companies with no gloves- manufacturing history, like Mah Sing, jumped on the bandwagon, hoping to make a quick buck.

But now, as global Covid-19 infection rates dive and the world begins to look “normal” again, glove manufacturers are facing an uncertain future. Questions are being raised about whether the billions ploughed in to build plants and increase capacity will make good returns, if any.

This is symptomatic of our propensity to rush into things and inability to adapt quick enough.

This is why I believe that the reminder by plantation industries and commodities minister Zuraida Kamaruddin that manufacturers tap into non-medical industries is timely.

She hit the nail on the head by saying manufacturers should be creatively exploring ways and means to make the glove industry lucrative and thriving again, although certainly not at the similar pace when demand was soaring and average selling price skyrocketed to record levels.

As one of the largest producers of natural rubber in the world, our glove manufacturers have an advantage and it’s time we leverage on that.

The other example I would like to cite is the banking industry. Recently, Bank Negara Malaysia announced the list of consortiums that will receive the first digital banking licences in Malaysia.

It is a long-anticipated announcement considering how online banking saw an exponential rise during the pandemic. But I do not think local banks are ready to face the onslaught of borderless banking afforded by technology, especially competition from the bigger banks worldwide.

On top of that, banks and even regulators have to contend with the rise in usage of cryptocurrency, which is now getting more popular, particularly among the urban and tech-savvy folk. Banks need to pull up their socks or risk being drowned by this technological wave.

The above are just two examples where we need to adapt. But this need is not industry-specific in a globalised world. As the world becomes more interconnected, the ability to learn and to adapt to change is imperative. We have to up this game as we return to post-pandemic normalcy. We need to swim with the tide, failing which we will sink into obscurity.

https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2022/05/05/upping-the-game-in-pre- pandemic-normalcy/
SUMBER: FREE MALAYSIA TODAY

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Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, YB Datuk Hajah Zuraida Kamaruddin launched the Malaysian Rubber Council’s Global Funding for Rubber Innovation (GFRI). Themed
“Nurturing Ideas for Rubber Industry. Globally”, the event took place at the Le Meridien Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, today. The GFRI is an effort to create a complete ecosystem to support the development of the rubber and rubber products industry in pertinent areas, such as research and development.


“MRC’s GFRI aimed to encourage the generation of ideas, innovations, and inventions for rubber products and technologies with good commercial viability to attract investment by the Malaysian rubber industry. Malaysian rubber products are currently exported to 189 countries worldwide. Exports have increased by 50.6% from RM40.1 billion in 2020 to RM61.7 billion
in 2021.” Zuraidah said.


“I believe that the importance of continuous reform and modernisation efforts in the manufacturing and innovative products are crucial to support the country’s economic growth. This is to ensure the rubber industry remains competitive in the global market,” she added. Industry, universities, and research institutions are the centres of the best minds in the country with a pool of experts from various fields. As such, researchers from respective organisations play a crucial role in generating innovation that can contribute to economic prosperity. In this regard, Malaysia can draw from the successful technical experts in developed countries such as the United States of America, European countries, and Japan which can spur rapid technological development.


“MRC’s Global Funding for Rubber Innovation will serve as an ideal platform to seed innovative inter-disciplinary nonfundamental research with the potential to promote investments in high-value products and technologies within the rubber and rubber products industry. It also provides a platform to find solutions to critical problems faced by the rubber industry, from upstream to downstream sectors.” Daroyah said.


MRC’s Global Funding for Rubber Innovation will kick off with an initial fund of RM10 million, which will be awarded as a full research fund. The research grant is open to all local and overseas
researchers from public and private research institutions, universities, other institutes of higher learning and companies based in Malaysia and overseas. A Special Committee consisting of
industry and technical experts from the public and the private sector has been set up to conduct technical and financial evaluations on proposals that conform to the requirements of the
funding programme.


YB Datuk Hajah Zuraida Kamaruddin congratulated MRC on the establishment of the Global Funding for Rubber Innovation and is confident that the Fund will promote investments in high-value products and technologies within the rubber and rubber products industry.

https://www.businesstoday.com.my/2022/06/08/zuraida-launches-mrc-global-funding-for-rubberinnovation/?fbclid=IwAR02PnVrgTNV7f5_pnQj4eW7zJku7ZyZtIaBnMBhOxghj6HiwMJq5Y5NA 
SUMBER: BUSINESS TODAY

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https://www.bernama.com/en/business/news.php?id=2046211
Sumber: Bernama

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KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 26): Bursa Malaysia's Health Care index rose more than 3% past 1,600 points to its highest in over two months, helped mainly by the rise in share prices of rubber glove manufacturers, including Top Glove Corp Bhd, Hartalega Holdings Bhd, Supermax Corp Bhd and Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd.

At 5pm, the Health Care Index, which also tracks share prices of pharmaceutical companies and hospital operators, rose 60.56 points or 3.82% to 1,644.83 — marking its highest level since Aug 11, 2022, when it was traded at 1,650.59.

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KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 9): Glove stocks were among the top losers in morning trade on Bursa Malaysia on Wednesday (Feb 9), despite the resurgence of Covid-19 cases and the spread of the Omicron variant globally, with average selling prices (ASPs) of gloves expected to continue trending lower.

As at 9.45am, the Health Care Index, which also tracks share prices of hospital operators and pharmaceutical companies, had fallen 18.4 points or 0.83% to 2,187.31.