Singapore dividends jump on bank specials: report

Core growth is modest at 2.1%.

Singapore-listed companies paid US$18.7b in dividends in 2025, with headline growth lifted by bank special payouts, according to Capital Group’s Global Equity Study, Dividend Watch.

The study put Singapore’s topline dividend growth at 19.3% in 2025, but said core growth was 2.1% after stripping out factors such as specials and other adjustments.

It said the topline increase was driven mainly by large special dividends from banks, alongside higher ordinary dividends from DBS and Singapore Telecoms, which it said offset a handful of cuts, with the largest reduction from Singapore Airlines.

Capital Group also said exchange-rate moves boosted Singapore’s topline result in 2025.

Globally, the study said dividends rose 7.0% to a record US$2.09t in 2025 and projected payouts of US$2.20t in 2026.

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