Once established, Cambodia will represent Manulife’s eleventh Asian operation.
In its statement, Manulife said it was working closely with the Cambodian government to “expedite the final stages of the license approval”, and that it was “actively in the process of establishing” its operation, with a head office to be located in Phnom Penh.
Toronto-based Manulife Financial, which used to be known as Manufacturers Life Insurance, and does business in the US as John Hancock, is Canada’s largest insurer as measured by assets. It was one of the first North American insurance companies to expand into Asia, having set up a Hong Kong operation in 1898.
News of its plans to launch a life insurance operation in Cambodia come seven months after Generali, the Italy-based insurer, announced it was planning to enter the Vietnamese market, after having been granted a licence there. Manulife has been in Vietnam since 1999.
David Wong, senior vice President of Manulife’s ASEAN Operations, said the plans to expand into Cambodia demonstrated Manulife’s “commitment to Asia and our success as a forward-thinking leading insurance company”.
“I am very excited to see Manulife expanding its footprint into Cambodia,” he added.
“We hope that in Cambodia, we can match the achievements of Manulife in other ASEAN markets, and help develop Cambodia’s life insurance industry, to better serve the emerging life insurance needs of its population.”
Agreement to help develop industry
Manulife said it had agreed to support the Cambodian government’s efforts to develop its domestic insurance industry, which, it noted, will include helping to educate Cambodian consumers about insurance matters.
Manulife said Cambodia, which has a population of 14.4 million, is rapidly growing and the recipient of significant foreign investment.
Most importantly, it noted, Cambodia’s commitment to aligning its growth with the wider development of the Greater Mekong region “has unlocked great potential and given confidence to investors”.
Manulife Financial, which is listed on the Toronto, New York, Hong Kong and Philippine stock exchanges, had funds under management at the end of September of C$492 bn ($481bn, £303.2bn).
