TORONTO - Manulife Financial announced that it has signed an agreement to purchase Fortis Bank SA/NV's(1) 49 per cent ownership in ABN AMRO TEDA Fund Management Co., Ltd. for cash purchase consideration of (euro)105 million (US$156 million)(2). The acquisition is expected to be accretive to Manulife Financial earnings in the first year and have a negligible impact on capital levels. The agreement is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2010.

The new joint venture, which will be called Manulife TEDA Fund Management Company Ltd., will provide traditional retail and institutional asset management across the Chinese market. While Manulife TEDA Fund Management Company Ltd. plans to maintain and grow its existing platform of high quality asset management products, over time it also plans to seek regulatory approval for expanding its lines of business as and when permitted by CSRC (China Securities Regulatory Commission) and other relevant bodies. Manulife continues to build upon its broad range of wealth management and pension solutions to serve its large, growing international customer base. Manulife Financial President and CEO Donald Guloien said, "Our new partnership with TEDA provides a rare strategic opportunity to make a fast track entry into China's large and high growth market for individual and institutional wealth management services. This accelerates our expansion in China's huge growth market by several years. We are impressed by the quality of this asset management operation with its strong management team and competitive culture. The business has shown excellent performance, underpinned by its quality administration, use of web-based tools, positive reputation with regulators and satisfied customers."

The asset management industry in China is expected to become one of the largest in the world in the coming decade. Current industry assets under management of US$338 billion (RMB 2.3 trillion)(3) are forecast to grow significantly and exceed US$1 trillion (RMB 6.9 trillion)(4) by 2014. China has one of the world's highest savings rates at 51 per cent of GDP (Source: China National Bureau of Statistics 2009) and to date, a very high proportion of household wealth is held in the form of deposits (88 per cent of personal assets based on Swiss Re Sigma 2007).

MFC Global Investment Management President and CEO J-F Courville said, "We are excited about the opportunity to extend the reach of our global asset management business into China. Our new joint venture should lead to opportunities to offer the asset management capabilities within Manulife TEDA Fund Management Company Ltd. to our global clients, to offer our global asset management capabilities into China, and to significantly strengthen our Asian investment management capabilities." With the completion of this deal, Manulife Financial will have asset management companies in 9 of 10 of its operating territories across its Asia Division and will be strategically better positioned to serve both the wealth management and protection needs of consumers in Asia. MFC Global Investment Management currently manages over US$100 billion in assets for institutional and retail clients worldwide, including US$13.5 billion under management for clients across Asia.

Marc Sterling, Executive Vice President, Asia Regional Operations, Manulife Financial added, "TEDA is an outstanding organization and we are proud to be associated with them. We will begin working with the relevant Chinese regulatory authorities to ensure we have a smooth and positive transition. It is appealing that TEDA is located in Tianjin, one of five centrally administered cities in China. Tianjin is also the home of Manulife-Sinochem's newest branch location. The joint-venture fund management company is headquartered in Beijing, where Manulife-Sinochem has operated for more than five years."

"Both parties will cherish the opportunity to cooperate closely to make rapid progress," stated Mr. Liu Huiwen, President of TEDA. "Manulife TEDA, in Chinese, has a very auspicious sounding name: Manulife stands for 'abundant reward' while TEDA stands for 'all the best wishes are destined to come true.' We believe with this combination of close cooperation and our lucky brand name, nothing can deter us from achieving success." ABN AMRO TEDA Fund Management Co., Ltd was established in 2002. With an award-winning management team and extensive experience in China's asset management market, it currently has assets under management of US$3.8 billion (RMB 26 billion)(5). It is 51 per cent owned by Northern International Trust, part of Tianjin TEDA Investment Holding Co., Ltd. (TEDA), a large company owned by Tianjin City, managing total assets of US$18.2 billion (RMB 124.5 billion)(6).

Operating in 38 cities in 11 provinces, Manulife-Sinochem Limited (MSL) currently has more than 10,000 agents serving over 490,000 customers across China. In China, MSL was established in 1996 and was the first joint venture life insurance company in China. Manulife Financial has extensive operations and more than 100 years experience in Asia.

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(1) Now operating under the BNP Paribas Fortis brand.
(2) Currency conversion as of November 20, 2009.
(3) Source: CSRC, currency conversion as of June 30, 2009.
(4) Z-Ben Advisors, currency conversion as of September 30, 2009.
(5) AUM calculation and currency conversion as of September 30, 2009.
(6) TEDA figures and currency conversion as of December 31, 2008.