SINGAPORE, April 7, 2026, 02:11 SGT
Prudential plc has opened the election period for Singapore shareholders to take newly issued stock rather than cash for its 2025 second interim dividend, after fixing the scrip reference price at US$13.834482 a share. The election window runs from April 6 to April 14, according to SGX corporate-action details and the insurer’s dividend timetable. 1
The move matters because it pushes forward the latest leg of Prudential’s payout plan after the Asia-focused insurer lifted its total 2025 dividend by 15% and told investors in March it expected to return more than $7 billion over 2024-2027. Prudential also reported that annual new-business profit, a measure of expected profit from new policies, rose 12% in 2025. 2
The scrip dividend, which lets investors receive new shares instead of cash, sits inside an evergreen scheme Prudential approved in 2024 and says is meant, over time, to improve liquidity in its Hong Kong-listed shares. New shares elected under the scheme will be issued on the Hong Kong line, with Prudential applying for listing or trading admission in Hong Kong, London and Singapore, the company said. 3
To qualify, investors had to hold at least 74 ordinary shares on the March 27 record date. The April 2 filing shows Prudential set the reference price by averaging its London-listed share price over five dealing days from the March 26 ex-dividend date and converting that figure into U.S. dollars using Bloomberg’s WMR spot rates on April 1.
Prudential said notification letters and entitlement advice for Singapore shareholders were due on or around April 6. Singapore investors have until 5:30 p.m. local time on April 14 to make scrip elections through CDP, while UK and Hong Kong holders face April 21 deadlines; dividend payments are due on or around May 20 in Singapore and on May 13 for Hong Kong, UK and ADR holders. 4
Chief Executive Anil Wadhwani called 2025 “a strong year of consistent delivery” and said Prudential was “confident in our double-digit growth trajectory” for 2026 as demand across Asia and Africa stayed firm. 2
Marc Jocum, senior product and investment strategist at Global X ETFs, said he was “constructive on the shift toward buybacks and shareholder returns” as a theme for 2026 and beyond after Prudential’s March results. 5
The update lands as rivals are also leaning on payouts. AIA Group announced a $1.7 billion buyback in March after reporting record 2025 new-business growth, underscoring how large Asia insurers are trying to pair regional expansion with higher shareholder returns. 6
But the stock option is not locked in. Prudential says the scrip alternative may be withdrawn if its London-listed shares fall 15% or more from the reference price by the election deadline, in which case investors would receive cash only. 3
Prudential operates across Greater China, ASEAN, India and Africa and has dual primary listings in Hong Kong and London, a secondary listing in Singapore and ADRs in New York. That footprint has made Hong Kong, mainland China and other Asian markets central to the group’s push for double-digit growth and bigger shareholder payouts.
