Insurance

Manulife Pushes Deeper Into China

Manulife said it will expand operations in China as the insurer seeks to capture increasing demand as the country prepares for virus restrictions to ease.

Bloomberg reports that Manulife is planning to build customer service centers in the Greater Bay Area, Damien Green, chief executive officer for Manulife Hong Kong and Macau said, while the return of tourists from the mainland in the future could also boost the life insurance industry, he said.

 

“All the indications are if the border restrictions are eased, Mainland Chinese Visitor business will return to Hong Kong,” Green said at a media briefing on Wednesday. “Hong Kong is the premier destination for mainlanders seeking health and retirement insurance solutions.”

 

The city’s sixth-largest life insurer is seeking to expand its local market share while tapping into new opportunities in China’s Greater Bay Area, which connects Hong Kong and Macau with nine cities in mainland China. ManuLife’s due-to-open 7,300 square foot Manulife Prestige Center located in Tsim Sha Tsui, the heart of the city, is the latest manifestation of how the company plans to drive sales from mainland visitors - which traditionally have not been target clientele - when Hong Kong reopens its border.

Manulife is setting a high bar for its Asia operations, seeking to increase its Asian insurance and wealth business to 50% of the company earnings by 2025. 

The new service centers are a sign that Manulife wants to catch up with rivals in the high net-worth clients segment including mainland customers, said Steven Lam, an insurance analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. 

“The ramp up comes at a time when rivals such as AIA and Prudential saw high costs as they needed to maintain large infrastructure during the pandemic,” he said.