2010 Communiqués de presse

Hong Kong - MFC Global Investment Management (MFC GIM) has been awarded the mandate to manage the Hong Kong dollar bond portion of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority’s Provident Fund Scheme. The HK$ 682 million (approx US$88 million) mandate was awarded to MFC GIM following a competitive pitch process.

MFC Global Investment Management’s HK dollar bond team, led by investment manager Paula Chan and supported by Ronald Chan, will manage the mandate as a segregated account.

Heman Wong, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority said: “After an extensive due diligence process, we are pleased to award the Hong Kong dollar bond mandate to MFC Global Investment Management. We were impressed by their scale and experience in this market and their ability to turn that into an information advantage for their clients. It is also important to us that our partners have a rigorous risk management process in place and this was also an area in which MFC Global Investment Management demonstrated considerable expertise.”

Avere Hill, Head of Institutional Sales, Asia at MFC Global Investment Management said: “We are delighted that the Hospital Authority has chosen MFC Global Investment Management to manage the Hong Kong dollar bond mandate for its occupational retirement scheme. This mandate win demonstrates just how far we have come in developing our offering to institutional investors in the region. The local expertise and experience of our investment teams, coupled with the investment management rigor of a global organization has been key to securing this mandate and this will continue to drive our institutional activities going forward.”

MFC Global Investment Management has been developing its institutional sales team in the region. In March 2010, the company hired Edwina Ho as Head of North Asia Institutional Sales. 

The Hospital Authority Provident Fund Scheme is an Occupational Retirement Scheme Ordinance program (ORSO) in Hong Kong for about 35,000 staff members working in the public hospitals.  The scheme has an asset under management of HK$35.4 billion as of March 2009.

 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.

MFC Global Investment Management has investment offices in Canada, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States and Vietnam. With more than 300 investment professionals, including more than 110 in Asia alone, MFC Global Investment Management offers worldwide expertise combined with local, on-the-ground knowledge and backed by a strong risk management framework. Additional information about MFC Global Investment Management may be found at www.mfcglobal.com.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial is a leading Canadian-based financial services group operating in 22 countries and territories worldwide. For more than 120 years, clients have looked to Manulife for strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking solutions for their most significant financial decisions.  Our international network of employees, agents and distribution partners offers financial protection and wealth management products and services to millions of clients. We provide asset management services to institutional customers worldwide as well as reinsurance solutions, specializing in life and property and casualty retrocession. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$446 billion (US$440 billion) as at March 31, 2010. The Company operates as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as ‘MFC’ on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under ‘945’ on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at www.manulife.com.

Media Contact:
Catherine Battershill
MFC Global Investment Management
+852 2202 1634
catherine_battershill@mfcglobal.com