Manulife Financial today announced Monday it is expanding again in China, with confirmation that Manulife-Sinochem Life Insurance Co. Ltd. has received approval from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) to operate in the city of Shantou.

Manulife-Sinochem is a joint venture company between Manulife (International) Ltd. and China Foreign Economic and Trade Trust & Investment Company, a member of the Sinochem group.

The new license will expand Manulife-Sinochem’s operational presence in China to 38 cities across 11 provinces. Shantou has a population of 5 million and is located in southeast Guangdong province.

“With its population of more than 5 million people, Shantou is another significant step in our efforts to expand Manulife-Sinochem’s reach to serve clients across China,” says Donald Guloien, Manulife Financial president and CEO. “We are very pleased with the positive reception our products and services are receiving from our fast growing base of customers across China.”

With this latest approval, Manulife-Sinochem is licensed in cities that are home to more than 276 million individuals. This is the eighth license in the province of Guangdong. Manulife-Sinochem currently has about 11,500 professionally trained staff and agents serving over 450,000 customers across China.

IE