2012 Communiqués de presse

Sichuan, China – In honour of the fourth anniversary of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Manulife-Sinochem (MSL) today delivered copies of the classic Canadian novel "Anne of Green Gables" to every student of six Manulife-Sinochem Special Schools. The schools, in Lu County, Yan Jiang, Gao County, Luo Jiang, Anju and Xichong, were rebuilt following the earthquake, with support from MSL. The Company hopes the story will inspire the students, with its theme of overcoming difficulties and achieving success.

Since its publication more than a century ago, "Anne of Green Gables" has been a favorite of readers around the world. In the story, the eponymous Anne conquers hardship, striving to realize her dreams through courage and perseverance.

"Our employees and agents visit the Special Schools every year. This year, we chose to hand out this classic piece of literature, which my children and I are very fond of," said Marc Sterling, Chairman of MSL. "Through this gift, we want to share the story of Anne with the children in the Special Schools. We hope it will encourage them to stay strong and pursue their dreams."

Over the past four years, MSL has shown its concern for the people of Sichuan through various donations and material support. In May 2008, immediately after the Sichuan disaster, MSL joined hands with its foreign parent Manulife Financial in providing financial relief to local victims, including for the reconstruction of the six MSL Special Schools, all of which are now open.

In the fall of 2008, more than 10,000 MSL employees and agents participated in a charity sale to help realize the dreams of over 4,000 children. In 2009, the company donated summer school uniforms and raised funds to purchase hearing aids for hearing-impaired students in the Special Schools. In 2010, MSL donated computers to help the MSL Lu County and Gao County Special Schools to establish computer rooms to provide students, to help improve their educational experience. In 2010 and 2011, MSL volunteers raised funds to support surgery for nearly 1,000 elderly cataract patients in poverty-stricken areas of Sichuan, subsequently restoring their eyesight.

"We are committed to helping underprivileged groups in Sichuan through continued care and material support for them and their environment. This has been part of our commitment to the people of China since we began doing business in this country in 1996,” Mr. Sterling added.

About Manulife-Sinochem
Manulife Sinochem, which is headquartered in Shanghai, is the first foreign investment joint venture life insurance company in China. Its shareholders are Canada’s Manulife Financial, and China’s Sinochem Corporation. Manulife-Sinochem is a joint-venture company between Manulife (International) Limited and the China Foreign Economy and Trade Trust Company (a member of the Sinochem group). To date the Company has over 16,000 professionally trained agents and employees, providing financial and insurance services to more than 650,000 customers. The company is now operating in 50 cities in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Shandong, Fujian, Chongqing, Liaoning, Tianjin, Hubei and Hebei. With more than fifteen years’ successful experience, Manulife-Sinochem is committed to offering comprehensive insurance products combined with excellent customer service and professionalism.

Manulife-Sinochem can be found on the internet at www.manulife-sinochem.com.

About Manulife Financial
Manulife Financial is a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. In 2012, we celebrate 125 years of providing clients 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 also provide asset management services to institutional customers. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were C$512 billion (US$512 billion) as at March 31, 2012. 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 manulife.com.

About Sinochem
As one of the key state-owned enterprises under the supervision of SASAC (State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council), Sinochem Group has been featured in the “Fortune Global 500” list 21 times, and ranked 168 in 2011. Sinochem has five core business segments: agriculture, energy, chemical, real estate and finance. A leading chemical service provider, it is China’s biggest integrated agricultural producer of fertilizer, pesticide and seed products, and the country’s fourth largest oil company. Sinochem is also a major player in China’s high-end commercial real estate market and non-banking financial sector. Sinochem has more than 200 branches and subsidiaries both in China and abroad, among which are several listed companies, namely Sinochem International (SSE, 600500), SinoFert (HKEX, 00297), Franshion Properties (HKEX, 00817), and Far East Horizon (HKEX, 03360). In June 2009, Sinochem made a major move to inject most of its assets into the shareholding entity Sinochem Corporation. More than 40,000 employees adhere to Sinochem’s spirit of exploration and innovation, adopting the mindset of “Creating Value, Pursuing Excellence”.

Sinochem can be found on the Internet at www.sinochem.com.

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