{
  "id": 18077221,
  "title": "Chinese firms’ third-quarter dividend growth lags global average amid market slump",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/04/chinese-firms-third-quarter-dividend-growth-lags-global-average-amid-18077221",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-11-04T05:31:16.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3373223/chinese-firms-third-quarter-dividend-growth-lags-global-average-amid-market-slump"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Chinese listed companies' third-quarter dividends fell short of the global average, according to a Capital Group report, raising questions about the effectiveness of Beijing's current stock market stabilization efforts. In China, dividends grew by 5.3% on a core basis in Q3, compared to a global increase of 7.5%, the Dividend Watch report released by Capital Group on Wednesday revealed. Globally, 88% of companies in the Capital Group index raised or maintained their dividends, but only 66% did so in China. The report comes amid China's stock market's worst month in a decade, with the CSI 300 index, which tracks major Chinese companies traded in Shanghai and Shenzhen, plummeting 8.5%, resulting in an overall annual loss of over 13%. Some experts have blamed the downturn on weak Chinese consumption and the ongoing property debt crisis. Beijing responded with a series of stabilization measures on Monday, aiming to boost liquidity, cut rates for share buy-back loans, and ease restrictions on leveraged trading. The financial, chemicals, and mining sectors contributed significantly to China's dividend growth, but the market still remains \"exposed to weakness in property and exports,\" the report noted. China's dividend growth remained uneven, with payouts tied closely to earnings performance and formal payout policies, leading to greater variation between companies and sectors, according to a Capital Group press release. The US, however, saw a core dividend growth of 5.8%, with 96% of US companies either increasing or holding their payouts, reflecting an economy generating strong earnings growth across diverse industries. Asia-Pacific (excluding mainland China, Hong Kong, and Japan) showed the second-strongest regional core growth at 13.3%, with Taiwan setting a new third-quarter record. Hong Kong exceeded the regional average with a core growth of 6.9%, contributing to a combined core dividend growth of 5.5% when combined with mainland China. Despite the challenges, Alexandra Haggard, head of product for Europe and Asia-Pacific at Capital Group, noted that the \"underlying backdrop remains healthy.\" Globally, dividends reached a third-quarter record of US$546 billion, and Capital Group predicted this year's total dividends to amount to US$2.24 trillion.",
  "summary": "Chinese listed firms’ third-quarter dividend payments lag behind the global average, according to a report by Capital Group, throwing doubt over the effectiveness of Beijing’s ongoing stock market stabilisation plans. In China, dividends only rose 5.3 per cent on a core basis in the third-quarter, compared with global growth of 7.5 per cent, according to the Dividend Watch report released by…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}