London, June 26, 2026, 11:02 BST
- Prudential fell 0.44% to 1,007p as the FTSE 100 slipped 0.60%.
- Filings indicate the 2026 buyback picked up 42.1 million shares by June 24 at a calculated average price close to 1,100p.
- The stock is trading nearly 8.4% under the buyback average after this month’s China/Hong Kong flow scare.
Prudential plc (LON:PRU) shares fell in early Friday trading in London, putting the stock under the insurer’s average buyback price for the year.
Shares slipped 0.44% to 1,007p by 11:02 BST, trading in a range of 994.2p to 1,008.5p. The FTSE 100 lost 0.60% at 10,466.47, according to Reuters market data.
Prudential said in April that it started a $1.2 billion buyback in January, with $500 million from recurring capital returns and $700 million coming from the IPO of its Indian asset-management arm. The company bought around 20 million shares for $312 million during the first quarter.
From Jan. 6 to June 19, the company picked up 40.95 million shares at a volume-weighted average of 1,102.5252p, a June 22 filing showed. Hong Kong next-day data recorded another 395,188 shares bought June 22 at £10.0722, 396,528 on June 23 at £10.0899 and 403,165 June 24 at £9.9288. The filings put the average up to June 24 close to 1,100p, about 8.4% over Friday’s delayed quote.
Prudential spent around 4.0 million pounds to pick up 403,165 shares on the London Stock Exchange for cancellation. Prices ranged from £9.83 to £10.065. The group said its total shares issued was 2.5126 billion after canceling the latest batch on June 24. No treasury shares remain.
Lower shares mean the buyback can take out more stock for each pound. That price gap is a clearer read on market doubt. Capital returns are shrinking the denominator. The Hong Kong and mainland China discount is still there.
China’s clampdown on cross-border investments is pressuring Hong Kong’s banks, insurers and wealth managers, Reuters said June 11. Shares in AIA Group (HKG:1299), HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA), Prudential and Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) all fell on concern over their Mainland exposure. Prudential would not comment, Reuters wrote.
“The biggest problem is that you never know how far the crackdown on cross-border capital flow can go,” Gary Ng, senior Asia-Pacific economist at Natixis, told Reuters. Ng said a shift in business norms can “pose risks” to Hong Kong firms. Reuters
Prudential is feeling that pressure. In April, the company said Hong Kong, Mainland China, and Malaysia posted double-digit new business profit growth in the first quarter. Group new business profit was up 10% to $686 million, and annual premium equivalent sales gained 6% to $1.823 billion.
Prudential CEO Anil Wadhwani said the company is still “confident in delivering double digit growth” in its main financial metrics for 2026 and meeting its 2027 targets, according to the same update. Prudential
Prudential picked up 100.37 million shares in Hong Kong repurchases by June 24. That’s 3.85% of its shares outstanding at the mandate date. The program allowed up to 262.67 million shares.
