Tidjane Thiam, the new chief executive of Prudential, said he was becoming increasingly optimistic about economic recovery in Asia as the company reported that its third-quarter sales had been supported by a strong performance in the region.

Group-wide new business figures were down almost 10 per cent at £700m compared with the same quarter last year, as Prudential avoided group life assurance and annuity business globally and individual annuity business in the UK.