Manulife (International), part of the Manulife Financial group of companies, has formed a strategic bacassurance alliance in Macau with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

Manulife (International), part of the Manulife Financial group of companies, has formed a strategic bancassurance alliance in Macau with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, it announced yesterday.

The alliance enables Manulife to distribute its insurance and retirement portfolios to ICBC customers, it said in a statement.

From September this year, the partnership allows Manulife to supply its life and medical insurance plans as well as retirement solutions to ICBC clients, via the bank’s 17 branches and four wealth management centres in Macau.

“Manulife has long been focused on the development of our bancassurance business, which is key to our strategic growth development. As in other developed economies in the world, Macau is facing an aging-population problem.  There will be an increasing need for retirement planning and we see a lot of potential for future growth,” said Michael Huddart, Manulife’s executive vice president and general manager for Greater China.          

Canada-headquartered Manulife has been operating in Macau since 1996. It posted a 37 per cent drop in total wealth sales in Asia in the three months to 31 March 2014, with declines experienced across various markets. Reasons cited included lower sales in China and the timing of fund launches and were partly offset by increased sales in Taiwan and contributions from its acquisition in Malaysia.