Dividends in Asia Pacific ex-Japan were broadly flat during the second quarter, lagging the rest of the world, according to the latest Janus Henderson Global Dividend index.
The region saw dividends rise just 1.1% on an underlying basis with one-third of the contributions coming from Hong Kong, where underlying growth also came in at 1.1%.
This was primarily the result of cuts by shipping company Cosco, which offset gains from other sectors. China Mobile was the top payer in Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan all saw double-digit growth led by banks, motor companies and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
The top payers in Korea and Singapore were Samsung Electronics and DBS Group respectively.
In Australia, dividends nosedived 24.3%, which was the result of a large cut from Woodside Energy. The top payer was Westpac Banking Corp.
Meanwhile, Japan saw dividends rise 14.5% on an underlying basis in Japanese yen terms, but the currency’s weakness meant that on a US dollar basis, growth came in at just 1.4%.
Toyota Motor was the largest contributor and made one of the largest increases following record profits.
“The overall picture in Asia for dividend growth was rather subdued this quarter given the impact of one name in Australia however this does mask a significant shift in dividend increases in Asia this year,” said Sat Duhra, portfolio manager for Asian Dividend income at Janus Henderson.
“The ‘value-Up’ corporate reform in Korea and initiatives such as the ‘nine-point’ plan in China have boosted dividends for a wide range of names, this should be evident in the coming year.”
