2012 News Releases

Shanghai - Manulife-Sinochem (MSL), the first joint-venture life insurance company in China, today launched the Happy Millennium Baby Survey: Planning for Growth of Babies in Middle-Class Chinese Families.

The survey is being conducted by MSL in conjunction with the respected Chinese consultancy Horizon. The survey will explore middle-class families’ attitudes, concepts, preparation and concerns for their children’s growth. 

There are 221.64 million children under the age 14 in China, accounting for 16.5 percent of the population.[1] These “millennium babies” born after 2000 are becoming a key focus of society, with a great impact on their families’ well-being, lifestyles and financial decisions.

“MSL has always been focused on meeting the changing economic needs of Chinese families by providing them reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking insurance products and services,” said Mr. Marc Sterling, Chairman of Manulife-Sinochem.

The survey will be carried out over the space of two months, with online and offline surveys conducted simultaneously. The online survey will be launched on MSL’s official website. The offline survey will cover 13 provinces and 50 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Wuhan, Chengdu, Chongqing, Nanjing, Ningbo, Shenyang and Fuzhou. Nearly 100,000 people are expected to take part in the survey, making this one of the biggest children’s surveys ever in China.

This is one in a series of important surveys by MSL. It follows the successful 2009 Middle-Class Family Happiness Index Survey and 2010 Fortune 2030: Middle-Class Family Retirement Planning Survey, both of which explored the well-being of middle-class families.

“We hope this latest survey will illustrate the importance to families of making sound plans for their children’s future, and help to provide them with useful financial advice for a better future,” said Mr. Sterling.

About Manulife-Sinochem
Manulife-Sinochem is a joint venture company between Manulife (International) Limited and China Foreign Economy and Trade Trust Company (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. To date the Company has more than 16,000 professionally trained agents and employees, providing financial and insurance services to over 650,000 customers. Manulife-Sinochem is now operating steadily in 50 cities in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Shandong, Fujian, Chongqing, Liaoning, Tianjin, Hubei and Hebei. With more than ten 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 Financial
Manulife Financial is a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. In 2012, we celebrate 125 years of providing clients strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking solutions for their most 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 Financial and its subsidiaries were C$500 billion (US$491 billion) as at December 31, 2011. The Company operates as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia and primarily as John Hancock in the United States.

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

About Sinochem
As one of the key state-owned enterprises under the supervision of SASAC (State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council), Sinochem Group has been named to “Fortune Global 500” for 21 times, ranking the 168th in 2011. Sinochem has five business segments including agricultural, energy, chemical, real estate and finance. It is China’s biggest integrated agricultural company with fertilizer, pesticide and seed product. It is China’s fourth largest oil company and leading chemical service provider. It also enjoys strong influence in China’s high-end commercial real estate market and non-banking financial market. Sinochem has more than 200 branches and subsidiaries both in China and abroad, among which, there are several listed companies, including Sinochem International (SSE, 600500), Sinofert (HKEX, 00297), Franshion Properties (HKEX, 00817), Far East Horizon (HKEX, 03360). In June 2009, Sinochem made a major move to inject most of its assets into a shareholding entity “Sinochem Corporation”. More than 40,000 employees emulate Sinochem’s spirit of exploration and innovation, adopt the mindset of “Creating Value, Pursuing Excellence” and try their utmost to enhance the corporate value and to build an iconic company worldwide.

Sinochem can be found on the Internet at www.sinochem.com.