Financial services group Manulife has become the first financial institution to receive an Investment Company Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise License in China.
Manulife has announced it has been granted an Investment Company Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise (WFOE) license.
The new company, which will be known as Manulife Investment (Shanghai), is the first financial institution to receive the Investment Company WFOE license.
Strict Requirements
This approval now paves the way for Manulife to provide its global public market and private assets solutions in the fast-growing asset management industry in China.
Stringent requirements must be met in order to qualify for an Investment Company WFOE license compared to other WFOE categories.
For example, the financial institution must own a majority stake in an existing entity in China. Manulife met this requirement through its 51 percent investment in the joint venture company, Manulife-Sinochem Life Insurance Co., based in Shanghai.
Broader Investment Base
«Being the first financial institution to receive the Investment Company WFOE status puts us in an excellent position to expand our range of global product offerings to investors in China,» said Kai Sotorp, Executive Vice President, Global Head of Wealth and Asset Management for Manulife.
The Investment Company WFOE license will pave the way for Manulife to serve a broader investor base such as small and medium-sized institutions, private banks and independent wealth management platforms.
Potential solution offerings can range from traditional equities and fixed income products to private assets strategies, such as timberland, farmland, commercial real estate.
