20 Dec 2022
Property group entered gloves sector two years ago as part of a diversification strategy
Singapore - Singapore-listed real estate group, Aspen Holdings Ltd is withdrawing from the rubber gloves business only two years after entering the market.
In a 16 Dec statement, Aspen said it was selling its glove production factory in Kedah, Malaysia to Singapore-based Sustainable Waste Management Holdings for RM200 million (€42 million).
Located at Kulim Hi-Tech Park, the 117,200 square-metre site had been leased by the property developer for 60 years from 1 Sept 2020.
Aspen entered the rubber gloves business at the height of Covid-19 pandemic, with a view to diversifying its existing businesses.
The Malaysian group made an initial investment of RM105 million for phase 1A of the project, which involved capacity to produce 1.1 billion pieces of rubber gloves a year.
In an earlier filing with the Singapore Exchange in October, Aspen defended the move to enter the healthcare business, saying the decision was based on due-diligence and “extensive market research”.
However, it added, demand for gloves experienced "an off-the-cliff plunge worldwide" in a "global phenomenon that none could have anticipated."
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