Market views: Dividend cuts to come in Asia

From airlines and banks to oil producers, companies worldwide are under pressure to cut shareholder payouts in order to preserve capital to keep their businesses running amid the coronavirus crisis. But institutional investors such as insurance firms and pension funds rely heavily on dividends as a source of income – and one that is even more crucial in the current low-yield environment. So it’s not surprising that proposals to suspend dividends have sparked consternation – as e…