Standard Chartered and Manulife have announced that they have entered into a 15-year distribution partnership providing Manulife the exclusive right to offer its Mandatory Provident Fund (“MPF”) product to Standard Chartered’s customers in Hong Kong.
As part of the arrangement, Manulife will acquire Standard Chartered’s existing MPF and Occupational Retirement Schemes Ordinance (“ORSO”) businesses, and the related investment management entity.
The partnership further enhances Standard Chartered’s wealth offering and the bank’s position as a leading distributor of wealth management products in Hong Kong. It will provide Standard Chartered’s individual and business customers in Hong Kong with greater investment choice, access to market leading technology platforms and high-quality customer service.
This arrangement significantly expands Manulife’s pension business in Hong Kong, and strengthens its position as the number two MPF provider as measured by assets under management and the number one MPF provider as measured by net cash flows.
Judy Hsu, Group Head, Wealth Management, Standard Chartered, said: “We are delighted to partner with Manulife, a leading provider of retirement funds in Hong Kong. The partnership demonstrates our commitment to provide our clients with a holistic proposition, including retirement services, to meet their financial goals. It is a further step in executing on our global wealth strategy, to leverage our strong franchise and distribution network to deliver quality wealth solutions to our clients.”
Roy Gori, President and CEO, Manulife Asia, said: “This partnership between two of Hong Kong’s top financial services companies will enable us to increase value to customers and deliver the benefits of economies of scale. The MPF industry in Hong Kong is experiencing continued consolidation, and Manulife is seen as a partner of choice. Manulife is a major player in the pension business in Hong Kong, Canada, the United States, and Indonesia. This deal complements Manulife’s recent acquisitions in Canada and the United States and accelerates our strategy to grow our Asia and wealth management businesses.”
The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2016, subject to the receipt of relevant regulatory approvals. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
