The new joint venture, Manulife Teda Fund Management (Manulife Teda), will provide traditional retail and institutional asset management for clients across the Chinese market. Manulife Teda is a 51% owned by Northern International Trust, part of China-based Tianjin Teda Investment Holding (Teda). The transaction has received all necessary regulatory approvals.
Manulife Teda plans to maintain and grow its existing platform of asset management products, and also plans to seek regulatory approval for expanding its lines of business as and when permitted by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and other relevant bodies.
With the completion of this transaction, the pro forma assets MFC Global Investment Management, the asset management division of Manulife Financial, manages for external investor clients were $110bn as of December 31, 2009.
Donald Guloien, president and CEO of Manulife Financial, said: “The completion of our new Manulife Teda joint venture transaction represents another important step forward for our growth plans in China and the Asia region. The substantial increase in assets under management in 2009 underscores the potential of this market. We are excited to be able to offer a combination of insurance, wealth and asset management capabilities in this important region.”
Liu Huiwen, president of Teda, said: “As Manulife has a long history of working successfully with its business partners and the regulators in China, we have great optimism for the success of this venture.”
JF Courville, president and CEO of MFC Global Investment Management, said: “This deal gives our global clients access to the investment expertise of a respected team of portfolio managers at the heart of China’s fixed income and equity markets. This, combined with the Greater China know-how of our Hong Kong and Taiwan-based professionals, makes us a compelling partner for institutional investors and Manulife’s retail clients wanting to tap into this important market.”
