2010 News Releases

Singapore - Manulife Asset Management (Singapore) Pte Ltd, part of MFC Global Investment Management, announces that it has appointed Mr. Pang Cheng Duan as Head of Fixed Income.

In his new role at Manulife Asset Management (Singapore), Cheng Duan will oversee the company’s fixed income desk and lead the development of the company’s external business, following the launch of its unit trust platform in September 2009. Overseeing the company’s fixed income strategies, he will work alongside the company’s equities professionals, Amy Low and Grace Ho, and feed into MFC Global Investment Management’s regional investment strategies.

A Singaporean-national, Cheng Duan joins from UT Asset Management, the asset management arm of Usaha Tegas Group in Singapore, where he was Chief Investment Officer.

Prior to that, he spent almost eight years at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), where he was lead portfolio manager in its US Bloc Bond and Japan Bond teams. Latterly, he was MAS’ Head of Foreign Exchange, Liquidity and Gold Division where he managed a team of currency overlay and liquidity provision portfolio managers located in Singapore and London.

Cheng Duan has also spent time stationed in Toyko, Japan as the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation’s (GIC) Deputy Representative.  In this role, he was portfolio manager for the GIC’s Asia Division managing Japanese yen, Australian and New Zealand dollar and Asian emerging market fixed income portfolios in local currencies.  

Jill Smith, Vice President of ASEAN Investments at MFC Global Investment Management and Managing Director of Manulife Asset Management (Singapore) says: “Cheng Duan’s appointment is another step forward towards building our presence in Singapore’s institutional market. We hope that his extensive experience managing large mandates for both the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation and the Monetary Authority will help us drive forward the development of our third-party business, particularly in the institutional market in Singapore.”

Cheng Duan replaces Mr. Akira Okada, who has moved to MFC Global Investment Management’s Hong Kong office to take up a regional role managing the company’s general account fixed income strategies.  

MFC Global Investment Management has over US$2billion in assets under management in Singapore as at December 31, 2009.

About Manulife Asset Management (Singapore)

Manulife Asset Management (Singapore) Pte Ltd (Company Registration Number 200709952G) is part of MFC Global Investment Management, the asset management division of Manulife Financial. The company manages a range of fixed income and equity funds for institutional and retail investors in Singapore.

About MFC Global Investment Management

MFC Global Investment Management® is the asset management division of Manulife Financial. MFC Global Investment Management’s diversified group of companies provides comprehensive asset management solutions for institutional investors, investment funds and individuals in key markets around the world. This investment expertise extends across a full range of asset classes including equity, fixed income and alternative investments such as oil and gas, real estate, timber, farmland, as well as asset allocation strategies.

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