Changsha, China - Today, Manulife-Sinochem held a grand ceremony to commemorate the start of its new operations in Changsha, Hunan province. The new branch expands Manulife-Sinochem's national operations to 51 cities across 14 provinces in China.

Hunan province possesses one of Midwestern China's most dynamic economies. In 2013, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Hunan increased by more than 10 per cent over the previous year, the tenth highest growth rate in China, while the average personal disposable income in the province increased by 9.8 per cent. 

Guy Mills, President and CEO of Manulife-Sinochem stated, "We are thankful for the support of the Chinese regulators. For many years, Manulife-Sinochem has been committed to becoming the most professional life insurance company in China through a prudent and sustainable management approach. Hunan is the one of the best places for investment and entrepreneurship in Mid-South Region. We are proud to be able to extend our business to Hunan and look forward to providing people in Hunan with strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking insurance products and services for their most important financial decisions. We are also committed to being an employer of choice, offering outstanding career development opportunities for talented people in the community."

Since its establishment in 1996, Manulife-Sinochem has been committed to the Chinese insurance market through stable operations and excellent sales quality. To date, the company has successfully expanded into the most densely populated areas of China, including Beijing, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Shandong, Fujian, Chongqing, Tianjin, Hubei and Hebei. Manulife-Sinochem provides professional insurance services to over hundreds of thousands of clients in China.

About Manulife-Sinochem
Manulife-Sinochem is a joint venture company between Manulife (International) Limited and Sinochem Finance Co., Ltd. (a member of the Sinochem group). It was the first Chinese-foreign joint-venture life insurance company established in China. Manulife-Sinochem began operations in November 1996. The Company has more than 12,700 professionally trained agents and employees, providing financial and insurance services to hundreds of thousands of clients. Manulife-Sinochem is now operating steadily in over 50 cities in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Shandong, Fujian, Chongqing, Liaoning, Tianjin, Hubei, Hebei and Hunan. With more than seventeen years' successful experience, Manulife-Sinochem is committed to providing strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking insurance products and services to our clients.

Manulife-Sinochem can be found on the internet at www.manulife-sinochem.com.

About Manulife
Manulife is a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. We operate as John Hancock in the U.S. and as Manulife in other parts of the world. We provide strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking solutions for our customers' significant financial decisions. Our international network of employees, agents and distribution partners offers financial protection and wealth management products and services to millions of clients. We also provide asset management services to institutional customers. Funds under management by Manulife and its subsidiaries were approximately C$663 billion (US$591 billion) as at September 30, 2014.

Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife can be found on the Internet at manulife.com.

About Sinochem
As one of the key state-owned enterprises, Sinochem Group has been named to "Fortune Global 500" for 24 times, ranking the 107th in 2014. Sinochem's core businesses span over energy, agriculture, chemical, real estate and financial service. It is one of China's four state oil companies, China's biggest agricultural input company (fertilizer, seed and pesticide), China's leading chemical service company. It also exerts strong influence in real estate and non-banking financial service sector. Sinochem currently owns more than 200 subsidiaries inside and outside China. It controls several listed companies including Sinochem International (SH, 600500), Sinofert (HK, 00297), Franshion Properties (HK, 00817) and Far Eastern Horizon (HK, 03360). In June 2009, Sinochem Group established Sinochem Corporation. More than 40,000 employees emulate Sinochem's spirit of exploration and innovation, follow the doctrine of "Creating Value, Pursuing Excellence" and try their utmost to enhance the corporate value and to build a respectable company with global influence.

For more information, please contact:

Manulife-Sinochem: Frank Zhou, Tel: (86) 21 3669-2641, Fax: (86) 21 3669 2000,
Frank_Ch_Zhou@manulife-sinochem.com.

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