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Manulife-Sinochem marks 6th year in China with official Opening Ceremony of branch office in Guangzhou Guangzhou, China – Manulife-Sinochem Life Insurance Co. Ltd. marked the start of business in Guangzhou – its first Branch office in China – with an official Opening Ceremony at the China Hotel in Guangzhou. On hand to officiate the proceedings and participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony was the Canadian Ambassador to China, Joseph Caron, Guangzhou Vice Mayor, Shen Bai Nian; and the Guangzhou Commissioner of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission. The Manulife-Sinochem management team, along with parent-company officials and 400 staff and agents hired for the new branch in Guangzhou, took part in festivities today that also included a traditional Chinese “Lucky Lion Dance” and the start of a brand new tradition for the Company – the very first passing of the “Manulife-Sinochem Torch” – from the Shanghai team to the Guangzhou team. The Torch serves to symbolize the passing on of tradition, inspiration, success and teamwork to the newly opened Guangzhou branch of Manulife-Sinochem. Leading China’s expansion in the Insurance Industry On October 17th, Manulife-Sinochem received approval by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) to open its branch office in Guangzhou, China. This is the first branch license granted by CIRC to a foreign invested joint-venture life insurance company. Manulife-Sinochem has completed the registration process for the branch and will soon be ready to sell its products to the citizens of Guangzhou. “Today is a very important occasion for Manulife-Sinochem and for the foreign life insurance industry in China,” said Victor Apps, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Manulife Financial, Asia. “As the first Sino-foreign life insurance company to receive its branch license, we are proud and honoured to lead China’s expansion efforts in this sector. We’d like to thank the Chinese government and CIRC for their continued trust and support.” Backed by more than a century of experience Manulife-Sinochem is a dynamic, leading-edge company in Shanghai, built from the solid foundation of parent company Manulife Financial, a global financial services provider with more than 115 years of experience in Asia and North America. Well diversified in both geography and products and services, Manulife Financial serves more than 8.5 million customers in 15 countries and territories across the world. Joint-venture partner, Sinochem, a multinational-trading conglomerate founded in 1950, provides the valuable local expertise. “In the same way that we consistently leverage product development and management expertise from one country to the next throughout our global organization, to our Guangzhou operations we bring six years of solid local business experience from operating in Shanghai – one of China’s biggest markets,” said Marc Sterling, Senior Vice President, Manulife Financial, Asia. “We have established in Shanghai a management team rich in knowledge on how best to develop and deliver financial products and services unique to the Chinese community. We have a deep understanding of the needs of the Guangzhou marketplace and look forward to offering the citizens of this city our portfolio of innovative financial solutions,” added Mr. Sterling. Six years of success in China November 26th also marks Manulife-Sinochem’s sixth year of successful business operations in Shanghai. Today, close to 3,000 professionally trained agents and 250 employees serve more than 140,000 customers. For 2001, total premiums and deposits were RMB 275 million. For the first three quarters of 2002, total premiums and deposits increased 48 per cent over the same period last year. This new business growth can be attributed to the continued success of Manulife-Sinochem’s first-to-market profit-sharing product, and its uniquely packaged investment-linked rider and profit-sharing plan. “Over the past six years, we have enjoyed the unique opportunity of learning to understand China’s insurance market,” said Raymond Chan, General Manager, Manulife-Sinochem. “We trust this knowledge will be invaluable in the future, as we move ahead with our expansion plans into Guangzhou and beyond.” 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 12 years. For the year 2001, the company’s total revenue was US$16.165 billion. About Manulife Financial Manulife Financial is a leading Canadian-based financial services group operating in 15 countries and territories worldwide. Through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners, Manulife Financial offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services. Funds under management by Manulife Financial were Cdn$139.2 billion as at September 30, 2002. 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. - 30 -
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