2005 News Releases

Olympic sponsor opens for business in Hangzhou

Hangzhou, China– Manulife-Sinochem Life Insurance Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Canadian-based Manulife Financial, the world’s fifth largest life insurance company, today officially marked the start of operations in the city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province – site of the Company’s second office in Zheijiang and seventh operation across China. Manulife-Sinochem was the first foreign player to gain entry into Zhejiang province when it established business in Ningbo in April this year.

“We are delighted today to celebrate the official opening of our operation in Hangzhou, the economic centre of wealthy Zhejiang province. We look forward to offering our extensive portfolio of premium financial products and services to the sophisticated citizens of this city,” said Victor Apps, Senior Executive Vice President and General Manager of Manulife Financial, Asia, at the opening ceremony press conference held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. “Having recently received permission to expand our China operating license to include Group Life and Health business, we are now in a position to fully service companies, families and individuals in Hangzhou with a wide range of financial and medical products for all stages of life.”

“It is our great pleasure to have sustained such strong support from the Chinese government over the years. The government’s cooperation has enabled us to rapidly grow our business, helping us to make enormous advancements on our long-term goal of becoming a nationwide insurer in China,” said Marc Sterling, Chairman, Manulife-Sinochem, at the opening ceremony. “We anticipate contributing to the growth of Hangzhou’s booming economy – offering customers our newly expanded portfolio of premium products and services and offering rewarding career opportunities to talented, local people.”

“With an aggressive growth strategy in place, we will be building on our local team of skilled professionals we have already hired in Hangzhou, providing highly-focused career options across all areas of our business to many more qualified applicants,” said James Lin, General Manager, Manulife-Sinochem. “Recently recognized, for the second year in a row, as Shanghai’s “Most Trustworthy Company” in the insurance sector, this is a testament to the company’s well-earned success and a tribute to the professionalism of our people.”

Rapid geographical and product expansion continues
Under the recently lifted geographical restrictions for foreign insurers by the Government, as part of its commitment to the World Trade Organization, Manulife-Sinochem has received a number of new licenses that is permitting the rapid expansion of its business.

In January 2005, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) granted Manulife-Sinochem license to significantly enhance its current product portfolio to include Group Life and Health and non-tax benefit Pension business, bringing its business scope in line with that of domestic insurers. In August, Manulife-Sinochem officially launched its Group Life and Health business, offering employee benefit packages to joint-ventures and small-to-medium sized companies in most of the cities it operates in.

“Manulife has a solid history across the world of providing organizations the products and services they require to attract and retain staff,” said Mr. Sterling. “Leveraging this expertise, we were able to swiftly put systems and products in place to be among the first of the foreign joint ventures to offer group insurance to mainlanders.”

“Once a number of pension regulations are in place, we will also use this opportunity to increase our presence in the China marketplace,” added Mr. Sterling.

At the start of the year, Manulife-Sinochem’s Guangzhou Branch license was also converted into a province-wide license for Guangdong, excluding Shenzhen, giving it immediate access to a market almost 80 million strong. Later in September, Manulife-Sinochem received approval from CIRC to open a Sales Office in Shenzhen.

To date in 2005, Manulife-Sinochem has established operations in Hangzhou, Ningbo, Foshan, and Dongguan and will be opening in the coming months in Nanjing, Zhongshan, Shenzhen and Shaoxing. The Company’s near-term national expansion strategy sees offices opening in close proximity to its three major operations in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou.

Olympic sponsorship set to enhance brand in competitive marketplace
“As a result of our global merger with Boston-based John Hancock Financial Services, Inc. in 2004, Manulife-Sinochem has proudly become the Official Life Insurance Partner of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games,” said Mr. Lin. “This is a very exciting time for Beijing, for China, and for our company – we are thrilled to be a part of this special event and the Olympic spirit that will drive the development of Beijing, ultimately showcasing it as the magnificent city it is, to the rest of the world.”

“Our corporate sponsorship dollars go toward supporting the dedicated individuals of China, who train long and hard to achieve the excellence that qualifies them for the world’s largest and most recognized sports competition. Similarly, we, too, strive to be the “best” in our industry,” said James CP Lin, Principal of Hangzhou Sales Office, Manulife-Sinochem.

The Beijing Olympic Games is considered the single greatest marketing opportunity this decade for companies wishing to establish leadership positions in Asia, and in particular the Greater China region. As such, Manulife-Sinochem plans to leverage the sponsorship to create a powerful and comprehensive marketing strategy that will span all facets of its life insurance business in all of its China locations, including Hangzhou, over the coming years.

“Manulife-Sinochem shares the Olympic attributes of top performance and striving to be the best,” added Mr. CP Lin. “As the exclusive Life Insurance Partner of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, we hope to communicate to our new stakeholders in Hangzhou that we, too, stand for the excellence that has long been associated with the Olympic ideals. We look forward to the tremendous branding benefits that we stand to gain from our investment in the Olympic Movement.”

Steadfast commitment to core competencies
The first foreign-invested joint venture life insurance company to enter China, Manulife-Sinochem opened its headquarters in Shanghai in 1996. In November 2002, Manulife-Sinochem received the first branch license granted to a foreign-invested joint venture insurance company and opened a Branch in Guangzhou. In April 2004, the Company opened its second branch operation in China’s capital city, Beijing.

Fast becoming a major player in China’s insurance market, Manulife-Sinochem attributes its success to remaining steadfast to the company’s core competencies that include customer service effectiveness, distribution excellence and product innovation.

“In addition to being recognized as Shanghai’s “Most Trustworthy Enterprise” this year, our “Smart Baby” Par Whole Life product received Shanghai’s “Favorite Juvenile Product” award for the third year in a row. We were also awarded the honour of “Favorite Insurance Product” in the Shanghai First Insurance Product Exhibition,” said Mr. Lin. “These awards have enhanced consumer awareness of Manulife-Sinochem in the marketplace.”

Today, Manulife-Sinochem’s 4,000-strong staff and agency force serve approximately 220,000 customers across all cities where it operates.

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. Sinochem has been listed among the Fortune Global 500 companies for 15 consecutive years, ranking 270th in 2004. It was ranked fifth among China’s 500 largest companies in 2003. 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$364 billion (HK$2,308.3 billion) as at June 30, 2005.

Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '0945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at www.manulife.com.

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For more information, please contact:

In China: Kim Griffiths Manulife Financial Tel: 2510 3200 Mobile: (852) 9091-3861 Email: kim_griffiths@manulife.com	In China: Lillian Li Manulife-Sinochem Tel: (86-21)5049-2288 x185 Mobile: (86-21) 1390-175-1095 Email: lillian_li@manulife-sinochem.com
In Canada: Peter Fuchs Manulife Financial Phone: (416) 926-6103 Email: peter_fuchs@manulife.com