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Manulife Investment Management receives China Securities Regulatory Commission approval to take full control of Manulife-TEDA joint venture 

Manulife Investment Management to become the first wealth and asset manager to convert its joint venture into a wholly foreign-owned public fund management company

SINGAPORE – Manulife Investment Management today announced that the China Securities Regulatory Commission (“CSRC”) has granted approval for Manulife Investment Management to acquire 51% of the shares in Manulife TEDA Fund Management Co., Ltd (“Manulife-TEDA”) from its joint venture partner, taking its ownership stake to 100%.

Upon completion of the transaction, Manulife Investment Management will become the first foreign wealth and asset manager to convert its joint venture into a 100%-owned public fund management company, and the first Canadian financial services company to wholly-own a public fund management company in China.

Manulife Investment Management has extensive experience in China, having been a 49% foreign partner in the Manulife-TEDA joint venture since 2010. The full acquisition will enable Manulife Investment Management to better serve the growing investment needs of investors in the China market, and represents an important milestone in the wealth and asset manager’s growth ambitions in the country.

Paul Lorentz, President and CEO, Global Wealth and Asset Management, Manulife Investment Management said, “As a company with a long history in managing our customers’ wealth across insurance and investments, we are privileged to be able to help customers in China achieve their financial objectives while managing their wealth through our fully-owned public fund management company. We are excited by the opportunity to continue to provide both institutional and individual investors in China with professional products and services, supporting the development and growth of China’s pension system, and helping Chinese people to meet their growing needs for retirement planning.”

Michael Dommermuth, Head of Wealth and Asset Management, Asia, Manulife Investment Management said, “We are delighted to have received the approval from the CSRC.  This is an important milestone for us, as it means we will have direct access to China’s large and fast-growing retail fund market.  The regulatory approval follows the appointment of Ms. Xu Jin as Chairman of our Wealth and Asset Management business in China earlier this month.  Ms. Jin is an industry veteran with deep experience in the asset management field.  With the regulatory approval, we are excited by the growth prospect and our talented domestic teams to realize our ambitions.”

Xu Jin, Chairman, Wealth and Asset Management, China, Manulife Investment Management said, “With its trusted brand and strong market foothold, Manulife Investment Management has built a solid foundation in China, for which Manulife-TEDA has been a critically important platform for Manulife to extend its investment services in China.  Over the years, Manulife-TEDA has gained the trust and support of a wide spectrum of partners and investors.  With our strong global investment capabilities and our proven approach of combining the power of local market knowledge with global expertise and best practices, we are well-positioned to continue to create value for our shareholders and employees, provide even better products and services to our customers, and contribute to the promising, high-growth China asset management industry.”

In 2021, China’s total retail fund assets under management (AUM) grew 27% year-on-year to USD 3.8 trillion. It is forecast to more than double by 2025.  The market’s potential is also highlighted by a comparatively lower retail fund assets to GDP ratio. As an example, China’s retail fund market AUM in 2021 was 22% of the country’s GDP, compared with 120% of that of the US1.

Dommermuth added, “Our winning formula is best evidenced by the robust on-the-ground investment and business team presence in all 10 Asian markets in which we operate.  Through this approach we are confident that our wholly owned public fund management company in China will further accelerate our growth in the market and solidify our position as one of the leading wealth and asset managers. Tianjin TEDA International Holding has been a tremendous partner over the past 12 years, and their contribution has been instrumental in creating the successful public fund management company we have today.  We look forward to continuing the great work by all our colleagues at Manulife-TEDA to achieve further success with our business.”

Manulife-TEDA has assets under management of USD 12 billion, as of 30 June 2022.

“By leveraging our strengths in China and our global investment excellence, everyone at Manulife-TEDA remains focused and committed in fostering the advancement of the country’s asset management industry, enhancing our pension proposition, and working towards the goal of proliferating financial inclusion in China. We are also looking forward to expanding our depth and breadth of our engagement with all the partners in the market,” added Jin.

Note to editors:

In 2017, Manulife Investment Management launched its Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise (“WFOE”) in Shanghai.  The WFOE was set up aiming to bring its global public and private assets solutions and co-investment opportunities to the fast-growing asset management market in China.

Having sold its first Asia life insurance policy in Shanghai in 1897, Manulife is also a major foreign insurance company in China.  In 1996, Manulife-Sinochem became the first foreign insurance joint venture in China, and it now operates in more than 50 cities and 14 provinces with more than 2,000 employees and 15,000 agents, serving 2.6 million customers in the country.

 

 

1 Source: Asset Management Association of China