KUALA LUMPUR: Top Glove Corp, the world’s biggest rubber-glove maker, said the retreat in Malaysia’s currency to its weakest level in six years would benefit the country’s exporters.

The stronger US dollar “augurs well” for export-oriented businesses, chairman Tan Sri Lim Wee Chai said in an e-mailed reply to questions from Bloomberg News.

A weaker currency makes Malaysian goods cheaper overseas and boosts the value of exporters’ overseas sales at companies such as Top Glove.

The ringgit has weakened 14% versus the dollar in the past six months, the most among Asian currencies, as oil prices tumbled and investors speculated the Federal Reserve will bring forward the timing of interest-rate increases.

“Our margins will be positively impacted as exports are US dollar denominated,” Lim said. “However, we cannot depend too much on the currency as it will fluctuate.”

Top Glove has rallied 11% this year, outpacing a 1% gain in Malaysia’s benchmark equity gauge. The stock slid 1.6% at the 5 pm close in Kuala Lumpur, after posting its steepest gain since Jan 22 on Tuesday.

Inari Amertron Bhd, a semiconductor company which counts Avago Technologies Ltd as its main customer, fell 2.7% after reaching a record on Tuesday.

Inari has surged 33% this year. A 2% drop in the ringgit versus the dollar would boost Inari’s profit by RM1.2mil, according to its annual report published in November. – Bloomberg

The Star