DBS Group Holdings opened its 50th anniversary celebrations - and its wallet - on Thursday by giving employees gold cuff links and necklaces, shortly after announcing a special dividend and a higher dividend policy for shareholders.

While sharing DBS's fourth-quarter results at an employee townhall on Thursday, CEO Piyush Gupta surprised employees with the announcement of an anniversary gift.

The bank commissioned the design of a DBS Sparks collection, modelled after the spark found at the heart of the DBS logo. All 24,000 employees in its 18 markets will receive their gifts by the end of February, the bank said.

The DBS Sparks collection is one of several anniversary initiatives to be rolled out in celebration of the bank's golden jubilee this year.

On the back of a 31 per cent surge in fourth-quarter earnings to a record S$1.19 billion, DBS on Thursday proposed a final dividend of 60 Singapore cents a share for 2017 - double last year's - and also a special dividend of 50 Singapore cents a share as a one-time return of capital buffers that had been built up, and to mark the bank's 50th anniversary. The dividends go out on May 15.

In addition, DBS said it will pay S$1.20 per share in annual dividends from this year - double its payout in three of the past four years. The news sent DBS shares soaring 5.3 per cent to close at S$26.71 on Thursday.

Said head of marketing and communications, Karen Ngui: "We believe that our people embody the DBS Spark - that spirit of imagination, that sense of possibility, and the courage to make things happen. It is this very spirit that drives DBS - from our early days as a pioneering force that financed Singapore's development and spearheaded our nation's transformation to making our mark across the region.

"Today, we are not only recognised as Asia's safest and Asia's best, but also as the 'World's Best Digital Bank'," she added.