Prudential has suffered another credibility blow after figures showed that the life assurer's Hong Kong and Singapore listings have failed to attract any significant investor interest. Data revealed that daily average volume in Pru shares in these two markets was less than 40,000 compared with nearer 12m in London.
Around 51m shares were transferred to Hong Kong in the middle of the bid for AIG's Asian business AIA, as part of a move to facilitate raising funds in Asian markets by allowing local investors to take part in the planned $21bn (£13.9bn) rights issue. But with the AIA deal having fallen through, investors have shown little interest in the Pru's shares. The company maintains that plans for a secondary listing were in place before the AIA bid, although hopes that the proportion of shares trading in Hong Kong would rise from the current 2 per cent to nearer 20 per cent now look wide of the mark.
When: 03/06/10
Price: 564p
Tip performance to date: +13%
