2006 News Releases

Shanghai – Manulife-Sinochem Life Insurance Co., Ltd. (Manulife-Sinochem) today held celebrations to mark its 10^th year of successful operations as China’s first foreign joint-venture life insurance company. A ceremony was held at the Shanghai Concert Centre with more than 1,000 attendants, including executives of its parent companies – Manulife Financial and Sinochem – and senior officials from Canadian and Chinese governments. Manulife-Sinochem began operations in Shanghai on November 26, 1996.

Dominic D’Alessandro, President and CEO of Manulife Financial, and Mr. Chen Guogang, CFO of Sinochem Corporation, presided over today’s ceremony to commemorate this important historical moment for Manulife-Sinochem.

“The success of Manulife-Sinochem is a testament to the excellent cooperation between China and Canada,” said Mr. D’Alessandro. “We are proud to be partners with Sinochem and are pleased to have a partner that shares our passion for excellence. We thank them for their ongoing commitment to building a company that is an industry leader in financial strength, product innovation, customer service, and agency and management development.”

“Manulife-Sinochem has been an industry pioneer, expanding at a rapid pace while providing quality products and services to the people of China,” said Mr. Chen Guogang. “We are pleased to see that with the full support from both parent companies, Manulife-Sinochem’s brand awareness and excellent reputation are building as it develops into a nationwide life insurer. Proudly, the Company’s high-quality, innovative customer service has become the benchmark in the industry.”

Ten years of success provides foundation for the future
In the past 10 years, Manulife-Sinochem has established itself as a leader in delivering premium financial products to the market. It has packaged and introduced more than 30 innovative financial products that respond to the specific needs of different customer groups. Having received approval in January 2005 to expand its China operating license to include Group Life and Health business, Manulife-Sinochem is truly in a position to fully service companies, families and individuals with its wide range of financial and medical products for all stages of life.

“With 17 approved licenses, Manulife-Sinochem is licensed to operate in more cities than any other joint-venture life insurer in China,” said Mr. Marc Sterling, Chairman of Manulife-Sinochem. “Our achievements over the past 10 years provide us the foundation upon which we will base future growth and expansion. We look forward to offering millions of Chinese our award-winning products and services and will continue to work hard to earn our customers’ trust by maintaining unparalleled customer service, a healthy earnings stream and a prudent investment strategy.”

Publicly recognized for its outstanding professionalism and trustworthiness, Manulife-Sinochem received the “Model Trustworthy Company of the Year” award in both 2004 and 2005 from the Chinese Consumer Foundation in Shanghai.

Manulife-Sinochem has proudly become the exclusive Life Insurance Partner of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. “This a very exciting time for Beijing and for China and the Company is honoured to be associated with such a prestigious event,” added Mr. Sterling. “Manulife-Sinochem shares many of the same attributes that have long been associated with the Olympic ideals – top performance, striving to be the best and dedication to excellence.”

About Manulife-Sinochem
Manulife-Sinochem is a joint venture company between Manulife (International) Limited (51 per cent) and China Foreign Economic and Trade Trust & Investment Company, a member of the Sinochem group (49 per cent).

About Sinochem
China Foreign Economic and Trade Trust & Investment Company (FOTIC) is a core enterprise of Sinochem. Sinochem, founded in 1950, is one of the biggest foreign trading companies in China. Since 1989, Sinochem has topped the list of the country’s 500 leading foreign trading companies and has also been recognized as a Fortune 500 company for 15 consecutive years.

Sinochem can be found on the Internet at www.sinochem.com

About Manulife Financial
Manulife Financial is a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 19 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia, and primarily through John Hancock in the United States, the Company offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$370 billion (approximately HK$2,577 billion) as at June 30, 2006. www.manulife.com.

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