Budget 2025: Reduce Rubber Glove Export Levy By Half, Says Top Glove

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 (Bernama) -- Glove manufacturer Top Glove Corporation Bhd has called on the government to reduce the rubber glove export levy by at least by 50 per cent in Budget 2025.

Executive chairman Tan Sri Lim Wee Chai said the group has been paying the levy for more than 20 years, and the reduction would ease the burden of rubber glove exporters. 

“We hope that Budget 2025 can reduce the rubber glove export levy, as other countries such as China and Thailand subsidise to help exporters, while Malaysia is still taxing exporters and it’s a very heavy (burden) on our shoulders.

“If (the government) continues to be taxing us, at least (the government) could reduce it by 50 per cent,” he said after the group’s virtual briefing on its results for the financial year ended Aug 31, 2024, today.

Meanwhile, Top Glove managing director Lim Cheong Guan expressed hope that the government could provide tax allowance to manufacturers for investment purposes.

He said the tax allowance could be used for investments in automation, digitalisation and green initiatives.

“Nevertheless, the government should consider reopening the foreign workers intake which has been frozen for many months. That will also help in terms of the Malaysian economy.

“No doubt we have done a lot of automation, but because of the big capacity and factories that we have, we still require some of these foreign workers as well,” he said.

Furthermore, he urged the government to consider the usage of Malaysia’s natural gas for energy sources.

“With Malaysia being one of the producers of natural gas and also one of the largest exporters as well of natural gas, the government should consider and encourage the usage of natural gas in Malaysia rather than exporting it, which doesn’t create a multiplier effect through the economy,” he added. 

Budget 2025 is scheduled to be tabled in Parliament on Oct 18, 2024.

-- BERNAMA