Standard Chartered (STAN) is preparing for a charm offensive roadshow in an attempt to patch things up with investors following a high-profile row over the its chief executive’s pay. Shareholders told The Telegraph that they have been invited to a meeting with the chairman and remuneration committee in September to discuss the uproar caused by the pay of boss Bill Winters. This included his controversial pension pot, which is worth £474,000 this year alone. More than a third of investors voted against the bank’s pay policy in May, but the row deepened last month when Mr Winters called those who had protested “immature”. “We’ve been invited to a meeting with the remuneration committee, and we’ve made our views pretty clear: sort this pension problem out and get the return on equity up,” said one top 20 shareholder. “It’s a bit surprising that he said that [“immature” line] to be honest.” Another large investor said he has been told that chairman José Viñals is “going on tour to fix the pay issue” adding that he expects a “conciliatory stance” in next month’s meeting.
Britain’s largest insurer has launched a new, artificial intelligence-driven health app, handing more than hundreds of millions of customers across Asia free access to online medical consultations, symptom checkers and a platform designed to predict dengue outbreaks. Prudential (PRU) launched Pulse in Malaysia, after previously announcing a new partnership with Singapore-based digital healthcare provider MyDoc. MyDoc’s services, which also include doctors consultations, electronic prescriptions and electronic medical certificates, will be integrated into Pulse as the app launches across 11 markets in Asia, targeting a potential 245m customers. Datuk Seri Dr Haji Dzulkefly bin Ahmad, Malaysia’s health minister, said: “Digital technology is revolutionising healthcare.” He called Pulse “a great example” of public in healthcare.” Mike Wells, Prudential group chief executive, said: “Pulse marks a step change in health management in Asia by making healthcare more inclusive.”
A secretive investment firm has leapt to the defence of short sellers after litigation funder Burford Capital (BUR) suffered one of the most devastating “short attacks” ever seen in the UK. Gotham City Research, known for its assault on outsourcer Quindell in 2014, has released a note adding to the criticism against Burford and arguing that short sellers “should be applauded for their work”. The report comes days after US short-seller Muddy Waters issued a blistering dossier on Burford, one of the biggest names in the rapidly growing litigation funding industry, in which it took aim at its accounting practices and “laughter-inducing” governance.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) is poised to name Alison Rose as its new chief executive, making her the first-ever female boss of one of the UK’s big banks. It is the clearest indication yet of RBS’s attempts to move on from the macho, high-risk culture that resulted in the lender having to be bailed out by the UK Government at the height of the financial crisis. Currently the deputy chief executive of Natwest Holdings, one of the bank’s subsidiaries, Ms Rose is understood to be in pole position to take over from Ross McEwan, who announced in April that he was stepping down and would leave within a year. Ms Rose could be officially announced as the New Zealander’s successor as soon as this week, though the process may slip as final details are agreed with investors and final sign-offs are sought from the appropriate regulators.
Energy supplier Ovo is exploring a deal that could see it take on “Big Six” supplier SSE’s retail arm, massively expanding the challenger company and its shares of the market. Ovo is understood to have held talks with SSE (SSE) about acquiring the FTSE 100-listed company’s retail business, which has almost 6m customers and 9,000 staff. Such a deal – first reported by Sky News – would mean a 400pc increase in the number of customers Ovo supplies with gas and electricity and an even bigger rise in employee numbers. A deal is by no means secured but it is understood that if negotiations were to progress, Ovo could pay several hundred million pounds for the SSE arm. SSE has been looking at ways to offload its retail supply arm after an attempted merger with rival Npower collapsed last year.
Questor: on the cusp of a golden age, AstraZeneca (AZN) shares might look expensive but are a buy. Questor share tip: after a long time on the road to recovery, the drug maker’s strategy is finally starting to pay off financially
