Manulife Financial Corp. (TSX:MFC) will hold its October 2010 board meeting in Beijing in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Canada and China, the company said Thursday.

“We felt that this autumn would be an excellent time for our Board to convene in China, which is one of Manulife’s and indeed the world’s most important and fastest growing markets for financial services,” said Gail Cook-Bennett, chair of the Manulife Financial board of directors.

“We are also looking forward to celebrating the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Canada and China,” she added.

While in China, Manulife’s board and senior executives plan to meet with Chinese leaders and regulators, Manulife’s partners, and the company’s Asia leadership team to review the company’s successful partnerships, continued growth and future opportunities in China.

Last week, MFC Global Investment Management announced that Manulife Asset Management (Hong Kong) was awarded a Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) quota of US$200 million from China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE). This quota allows non-Chinese investors to invest in securities listed on Chinese exchanges, broadens the offerings available to Manulife’s investing clients and expands Manulife’s international investments into China. Manulife also recently announced that its Chinese fund management joint venture, Manulife TEDA, has received a US$500 million Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) quota enabling it to invest domestic Chinese funds in specific overseas markets including Canada.

Through its Manulife-Sinochem and Manulife TEDA joint ventures in China, and with international fund management support from MFC Global Investment Management, Manulife provides insurance, wealth and asset management services to over 1.5 million Chinese clients through 12,000 employees and agents in 42 cities. Manulife TEDA had assets under management of RMB 30 billion (US$4.4 billion) as at December 31, 2009.

Manulife first established operations in Shanghai in 1897, and then was the first Chinese-foreign joint venture life insurance company approved to re-enter the Chinese market in 1996 through its insurance joint venture, Manulife-Sinochem. Today, some 75% of Manulife’s total business is conducted outside of Canada, including operations in 11 countries and territories in Asia.

IE