Prudential

The Prudential chief executive Tidjane Thiam was under fire from shareholders last night after taking on a second high-profile job while trying to steer the insurer through a record takeover deal.

Prudential has launched its five actively-managed risk-rated multi-asset vehicles on Cofunds and Fidelity FundsNetwork.

Prudential rushed last night to complete a Hong Kong listing for its shares amid doubts investors would approve its record $35.5bn acquisition of AIA, the Asian division of American International Group (AIG).

The FTSE 100 edged past the 5,600 mark in early trading Monday, helped in part by a 2% gain for Prudential which has accelerated its plans for a listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Prudential has applied to have its shares listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as part of its plan to buy AIG's Asian assets.

The City's leading investment banks are falling over themselves to get a slice of the $700m in fees on offer from Prudential's record $21bn rights issue.

Standard & Poor's is considering cutting its rating on Prudential over leverage concerns following its $35.5bn deal to buy AIG's Asian business.

Miners continue to lead the FTSE 100 into positive territory after rising copper prices led to a strong showing yesterday.

Pruprotect grew strongly last year but its stable mate Pruhealth suffered a tougher 12 months.

Pruprotect looks set to reveal a substantial gain in its new business for last year but its stable mate Pruhealth appears to have suffered a tougher 12 months.