On 1 March 1931 – 92 years ago – Prudential opened its first office in Singapore.
This pioneering branch was located on the second floor of the Mercantile Bank Building in Raffles Square, and consisted of just three small rooms and four employees: Branch Manager, Mr L.A. Williams; his assistant, Mr A.S. Clarke; a clerk, Mr Wee Hye Booey; and one messenger. A few days after opening, Miss P. Chater, a stenographer, joined the debut team.
The Singapore business provided life, fire, motor, personal accident, workmen’s compensation, accident, and marine insurance, and it became the headquarters of Prudential’s ‘Malaya Branch’, a territory which included modern-day Malaysia. Sub-offices were soon established in Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Penang, and Borneo.
Prudential agents – Chinese, European, Indian, and Malay – were appointed throughout the country, with canvassing documents in Chinese, Malay, and Tamil.
Initially, the preparation of policies was undertaken in Kolkata, India – Prudential’s first overseas office – with the forms passed to the branch in Singapore for signature. The first year of business in Singapore saw the company write 540 policies with £194,200 sums assured.
After 92 years of operations, Prudential is still one of Singapore’s leading life insurance companies, and is now one of the market-leaders in protection, savings, and investment-linked plans, with S$53.3 billion funds under management as of 31 December 2021.
The business has come a long way since those three small rooms in Raffles Square, and today operates from Workplayce – a dynamic and innovative state-of-the-art office – which engages employees with activity-based working options in a collaborative environment, as well as nature-inspired nooks to recharge.
From the team of four that opened the office doors for the first time on 1 March 1931, there are now 1,200 employees in Singapore with a network of over 5,000 financial consultants alongside bank partners; collectively, we are continuing our commitment to help customers get the most out of life.