“We do see the China pension market as one of the biggest opportunities for Manulife not just in Asia, but globally. I mentioned Hong Kong and China has a bigger aging problem because of the impact of the one-child policy and the birth rate does not seem to have picked up since they revised the policy,” says Michael Huddart, Manulife executive vice president and general manager for Greater China.

 

Huddart says there are potential growth areas in China’s pension market namely: managing money for the US$146 billion Social Security Fund (SSF), a government-controlled investment fund established primarily to provide a reserve of funds for China's social security system; providing products for enterprise annuities which is similar to the 401K, a defined contribution system for workers in the US; and a proposed system for deferred savings vehicles, the details of which are yet to be launched.

 

“The difficulty is that it’s not yet clear where the major opportunities are. The Chinese market is still in development. So we do have resources dedicated to exploring that market, but at the moment we have a strong watching brief,” Huddart says.

 

In Hong Kong, Manulife’s insurance sales in the fourth quarter of 2014 were HK$762 million, representing a new record and an increase of 12% over the same quarter of 2013. The strong sales momentum that started in the third quarter continued into the last quarter, helped by successful sales campaigns and customer loyalty programs.  

 

Full year insurance sales of HK$2.3 billion set a new record and were 15% higher than in 2013.

 

Fourth quarter wealth sales were HK$2.6 billion, up 18% over the same period of 2013. The strong sales were mainly driven by successful marketing campaigns in the pension business. Full year sales of HK$9.4 billion were 6% higher than in 2013.

 

Manulife Hong Kong has maintained its strong position as the second-largest Mandatory Provide Fund (MPF) provider and continued to outperform other players in the market in terms of estimated net cash flow.

 

As at the end of December 2014, its MPF market share increased to 18.5% based on assets under management, which is a record high since the launch of MPF.

 

Manulife Hong Kong’s total premiums and deposits in the fourth quarter grew to HK$9.1 billion, up 12% from the same period of 2013. The increase was attributable to higher insurance and wealth sales, stable growth in renewal premiums and an expanded agency force. Full year premiums and deposits were HK$34 billion, 9% higher than in 2013.

 

As at the end of 2014, Manulife had a professional agency force of 6,584 agents in Hong Kong, representing a 5% increase over the prior 12 months.