Singapore firms’ 2025 dividend payouts hit US$18.7 billion record high amid boost from banks: study

[SINGAPORE] In 2025, Singapore firms delivered their biggest dividend haul yet, buoyed by special dividends from banks and larger payouts, mirroring a record-breaking year for global dividends, showed a study by US asset manager Capital Group. 

Dividend payouts by Singapore companies reached an all-time high of US$18.7 billion in 2025, a 19.1 per cent year-on-year increase. Meanwhile, global dividends rose 7 per cent to a US$2.1 trillion annual record, according to the Capital Group Global Equity Study, which tracks dividend payouts since 2015.

The record figure came as Singapore notched “rapid” 19.3 per cent top-line growth, propelled by one-off payments and large special dividends by banks, with “significant increases” in normal dividends by DBS and Singapore telcos in particular, said Capital Group on Wednesday (Feb 25). 

Exchange rates also gave top-line growth a boost, which was “large enough to offset a handful of notable cuts, the largest of which came from Singapore Airlines”, noted the asset manager. 

While core growth rate was just 2.1 per cent, with much of the “heavy lifting” in 2025 being attributed to one-offs, Capital Group highlighted that the banking sector’s special dividends signal “strong trading and capital positions”. 

“It is arguably reasonable to consider the top-line growth rate as more representative of the year,” it stated. 

Jeik Sohn, Capital Group’s head of client group for South-east Asia, said: “In an environment dominated by geopolitical uncertainty, tariff tensions and alternating phases of volatility, companies that pay dividends and show they can grow them sustainably over time offer stability to portfolios.” 

He added: “For investors in Singapore, Hong Kong and China, dividends can continue to provide a dependable source of income and resilience across market conditions.” 

Global growth 

Global core dividend growth stood at 6 per cent in 2025, exceeding Capital Group’s projection by 0.2 percentage point. 

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This came as a strong fourth-quarter performance capped the year, with the quarter recording greater-than-expected strength across Europe, the US and some emerging markets. 

Dividend payout growth was broadly distributed across geography and sectors in 2025. 

Capital Group noted that 30 of the 46 markets or territories that its study tracked achieved record payouts, including the US, Japan, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and most of Europe. 

Japan led the growth with its payouts rising twice as fast as the global average. The country achieved a core dividend growth of 12.5 per cent while the global average was 6 per cent. 

The US, emerging markets, Canada and Europe saw core growth clustering at a range of around 6 to 7 per cent for 2025. 

Australia was a “notable weak spot”, with its heavy exposure to resources and slow-growing banks, while the UK lagged due to mining and telecommunications.

In China, pressure on corporate profits transmitted mechanically to dividends via fixed payout ratios. 

A diverse spread of sectors, from insurance, software and media to pharmaceuticals and utilities, contributed significantly to dividend growth in 2025, said Capital Group. 

“Taiwan Semiconductor made the world’s largest increase thanks to surging demand for its chips. It distributed an extra US$3.6 billion and became the world’s fifth-largest payer in 2025,” the asset manager said. 

Novo Nordisk and Microsoft made the next largest increases, while Microsoft remained the world’s largest payer, with Exxon at a distant second place, it added. 

2026 projections

Global payouts could reach a new high of US$2.2 trillion in 2026, with long-term structural drivers of dividend growth set to support continued momentum this year, projects Capital Group. 

The asset manager forecasts a top-line payout growth of 5.4 per cent for 2026 – equivalent to core growth of 5.7 per cent. 

“Looking at 2026, there are many encouraging signs for the year ahead with global equity markets broadening, more companies driving returns and dividends well-supported by the earnings outlook,” said Alexandra Haggard, head of asset class services for Europe and Asia-Pacific at Capital Group.

The study highlighted brighter consensus earnings estimates for 2026, supported by tech investment, government stimulus and “a string of recently announced US trade deals that have reduced policy uncertainty and falling interest rates in some key economies”. 

It also pointed to a resurgence in the European economy, driven by increased fiscal spending, higher defence budgets and currency tailwinds. 

In Asia, China shows signs of stabilising and Japan may get “back on track for sustained reflation”, with better growth and higher inflation in the latter half of the year. 

Despite the bright outlook, the study also warned of the risks of a potential market pullback as stocks are “expensive relative to historic levels”.  

“Whether or not markets pull back from their current high valuations, dividends have been well-supported by the earnings outlook and could provide a key anchor of stability for investors, helping their total returns weather market volatility,” the study said.