Great Eastern’s big rally – vindication for the ‘troublemakers’ and a lesson for the market
MAS and SGX should seek to make responsible shareholder activism more culturally acceptable in the local market
[SINGAPORE] Some shareholders of Great Eastern (GEH) who resisted OCBC’s attempt to fully acquire and delist the insurer two years ago may have felt vindicated by the strong financial numbers it reported last week, and by the big run in its share price over the past month.
Before the market opened on Friday (Jul 31), GEH said its profit attributable to shareholders jumped nearly 103 per cent in Q2 2026 to S$503.2 million. This brought its H1 2026 profit attributable to shareholders to S$849.5 million, up more than 43 per cent versus H1 2025.
Total weighted sales were up 13 per cent to S$411.3 million in Q2 2026, and up 15 per cent to S$813.2 million in H1 2026. New business embedded value increased 25 per cent in Q2 2026 to S$209.9 million, and 28 per cent in H1 2026 to S$405.3 million.
