The company, which was slapped with an import ban by the US in July last year on evidence of forced labour practices, said in a statement on Friday that it had been cleared to resume US sales.

Top Glove said it remained committed to the health, safety and well-being of its workers.

Shares rose as much as 10% in Malaysia, the biggest surge in five months.

The world’s biggest glove maker got a vote of confidence from investors in the credit market, as the coronavirus fueled demand for the Malaysian company’s rubber products.

The World Health Organization had taken the unprecedented step of negotiating directly with suppliers to improve access to gloves, face masks and other forms of protective equipment.

The US Customs and Border Protection separately said it will revoke Top Glove’s import ban, according to a notice by the agency posted on the Federal Register website.

“CBP has now determined, based upon additional information, that such merchandise is no longer being, or is likely to be, imported into the United States in violation of section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended,” according to the notice.

“We believe that the removal of the ban would boost Top Glove revenue, which has suffered since shipments by Top Glove Malaysia to the US was halted temporarily,” Tan Kong Jin, an analyst at Kuala Lumpur-based TA Securities, said in a note to clients today.

Sales from North America at Top Glove dropped to 8% during its fiscal third quarter ended May from 23% in the fiscal second quarter ended February, according to Tan.

Shares of Top Glove had dropped 48% since the import ban in mid-July 2020 until Thursday.

It was up 5% to RM3.58 per share at 10.25am local time.