2005 News Releases

Company to open sales office in famed ancient city: Shaoxing

Shaoxing, China– Manulife-Sinochem Life Insurance Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Canada-based Manulife Financial and the Official Life Insurance Partner of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, has received approval from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) to open a Sales Office in the city of Shaoxing, in Zhejiang Province.

“This approval to open in Shaoxing marks our 11th city in China and third in Zhejiang Province, after Ningbo and Hangzhou, where we have been operational since this April and September, respectively,” said Marc Sterling, Chairman of Manulife-Sinochem. “We are proud to be the first foreign life insurer to enter the prosperous Shaoxing market and intend to be fully operational here within the next few months. Manulife-Sinochem now boasts one of the most extensive sales networks of any foreign-invested insurer in China.”

Manulife-Sinochem has established operations in Ningbo, Foshan, Dongguan and Hangzhou, and will be opening within the next few months in Nanjing, Zhongshan and Shenzhen. The opening of Shaoxing office is in line with the Company’s strategy to rapidly expand its business in China.

Shaoxing is a famed ancient city with a history of over 2,500 years and a population of more than four million. Over the past five years, Shaoxing has enjoyed a double-digit GDP growth, well outpacing the national average every year, with per capita GDP reaching RMB 30,254 and total deposits reaching RMB156.09 billion based on 2004 figures.

“We are very excited about the market potential in this historic yet vibrant city for both individual and group insurance products,” added Mr. Sterling. “We expect to thrive here by raising the bar for the industry through our comprehensive product offerings and excellence in customer service.”

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). Headquartered in Shanghai where it began its China operations in November 1996, Manulife-Sinochem opened China’s first foreign-invested joint venture life insurance branch office, in the city of Guangzhou, in November 2002 and has since been pursuing a rapid expansion strategy across the country. Today, Manulife-Sinochem’s approximately 4,000 professionally trained agents and employees serve almost 220,000 customers.

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 Hong Kong: Helena Lee / Jeanie Ho Manulife (International) Limited Tel: 2202 1050 / 2510 3191 Fax: 2234 6875 Email: helena_lee@manulife.com jeanie_ho@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 Asia: Kim Griffiths Manulife Financial Tel: 2510 3200 Mobile: (852) 9091-3861 Email: kim_griffiths@manulife.com