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Tag: Manulife

  • Manulife Singapore Pioneers Multi-Cancer Screening for Insured, Spearheading Preventive Healthcare Revolution

    Manulife Singapore Pioneers Multi-Cancer Screening for Insured, Spearheading Preventive Healthcare Revolution

    Manulife Singapore is intensifying its commitment to preventative healthcare and lifespan enhancement solutions via a new partnership with Guardant Health, a precision oncology expert. This strategy makes Manulife the pioneer insurance firm in Singapore to provide the Shield™ multi-cancer detection (MCD) blood test, available to eligible customers from May 2026.

    This collaboration is part of a broader Asian alliance between the two companies, covering Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. The partnership reiterates Manulife’s overarching strategy of amalgamating health protection with long-term wealth and lifespan planning.

    Emphasizing Proactive Detection

    Designed to screen ten prevalent cancers with a single blood draw, the Shield™ MCD lab-crafted test underscores several cancers with high fatality rates in Singapore. The test was recently awarded the “Oncology Product Innovation of the Year” title at the Healthcare Asia Medtech Awards and received the Breakthrough Device Designation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

    This partnership advances the pre-existing relationship between Manulife and Guardant Health, as the latter already offers the Guardant360® Liquid test for advanced solid tumours to customers in Singapore.

    Longevity as a Focal Point

    The partnership evidences an increasing emphasis on preventative care and healthy ageing among insurers as Asia’s populace demographic shift. “As longevity increases, the primary concern is the quality of those extended years,” stated Benoit Meslet, President and CEO of Manulife Singapore. “Providing customers with early insights into their health enables them to make informed decisions today for a healthier tomorrow.”

    Singapore is one of the fastest-ageing societies in Asia, with healthcare systems prioritising preventative and personalised care. In 2024, cancer was the predominant cause of death in Singapore, accounting for over a quarter of all fatalities.

    Manulife’s initiative aligns with the findings from the 2025 Asia Care Survey, showing that over half of Singapore consumers perceive cancer as the hardest illness to prevent.

    Questions & Answers

    What is the new collaboration between Manulife Singapore and Guardant Health about?

    The collaboration aims to offer the Shield™ multi-cancer detection (MCD) blood test to eligible Manulife customers in Singapore, aiding in the early detection of ten common cancers.

    How does this partnership align with Manulife’s broader strategy?

    This partnership coincides with Manulife’s broader strategy of blending health protection with long-term wealth and lifespan planning. It underscores the insurer’s emphasis on preventative care and healthy ageing.

    What insights does the 2025 Asia Care Survey provide?

    The survey reveals that over half of Singapore consumers consider cancer as the most difficult disease to prevent, indicating the importance of early detection and preventative healthcare.

  • Manulife Ignites Responsible AI Revolution: Launches Cutting-edge Center in Singapore to Boost Insurance Efficienc

    Manulife Ignites Responsible AI Revolution: Launches Cutting-edge Center in Singapore to Boost Insurance Efficienc

    Manulife, the multinational insurance corporation, recently launched its Artificial Intelligence (AI) Center of Excellence in Singapore. This move is part of the company’s strategic plan to leverage cutting-edge technologies to streamline its operations and enhance customer experience.

    The insurance giant plans to utilize AI to expedite insurance processes while improving personalized advice and customer engagement, according to an announcement made last Friday.

    According to CEO Benoit Meslet, AI plays an instrumental role in delivering better, faster, and more personalized services to customers. He highlighted the importance of technology in strengthening trustworthy human relationships in the business.

    AI Integration in Various Insurance Processes

    Manulife’s development strategy places a focus on underwriting, distribution, operations, and customer engagement. The development is guided by principles of transparency and security. This approach signifies the company’s commitment to build unique customer service delivery and cost efficiency while preparing its workforce for the future.

    Singapore’s vibrant innovation ecosystem, robust digital infrastructure, and regulated AI governance framework provide the perfect base for experimentation and talent development. Manulife plans to increase its AI-specific workforce over the next three years, with new hires focusing on data science, AI governance, and engineering.

    Expanding Best Practices in the Regional Insurance Market

    Manulife is participating in the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Pathfinder Programme, among other research partnerships. The company is committed to helping establish industry-wide standards for responsible AI use.

    Chief AI Officer for Manulife Asia, Mark Czajkowski, emphasized that “responsible innovation, governance, and impact” are at the core of the company’s strategy.

    Emphasizing the Role of Technology in Value Creation

    By incorporating advanced analytics and automation into its core operations, Manulife aims to increase productivity and offer more intuitive financial protection solutions. This step highlights a broader industry shift where investing in AI has become a crucial factor for competitive growth.

    Questions & Answers

    What is the primary aim of Manulife’s AI Center of Excellence in Singapore?
    The primary aim is to leverage AI technology to streamline operations and enhance personalized customer service.

    What are the focus areas of Manulife’s AI development strategy?
    The focus areas are underwriting, distribution, operations, and customer engagement.

    What is Manulife’s stance on AI governance?
    Manulife emphasizes the importance of responsible innovation, governance, and positive impact in its AI strategy.

  • Manulife Bolsters Leadership with Appointment of Former HSBC Asia CFO Ming Lau

    Manulife Bolsters Leadership with Appointment of Former HSBC Asia CFO Ming Lau

    Manulife, a global insurance provider, has announced the appointment of Ming Lau as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Asia. This announcement is effective as of May 2026. Ming Lau will directly report to Colin Simpson, Manulife’s Global CFO.

    Ming Lau brings a wealth of experience to this new role. He has an impressive career in financial services spanning nearly three decades. Most recently, he served as the CFO for HSBC in the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions. He also filled various senior positions, such as CFO of HSBC China and CFO of HSBC Global Commercial Banking.

    The experienced finance professional is expected to bring immense value to Manulife. Commenting on the appointment, Colin Simpson stated, “We are delighted to welcome Ming to Manulife. His extensive experience and proven leadership across multiple markets will be instrumental as we continue to advance our strategic priorities and growth ambitions in Asia.”

    Questions & Answers

    Who has been appointed as the new CFO for Asia by Manulife?
    Ming Lau has been appointed as the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Asia at Manulife.

    What is the professional background of the newly appointed CFO?
    Ming Lau has nearly 30 years of experience in financial services. Previously, he served as CFO for HSBC in the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions, as well as CFO of HSBC China and CFO of HSBC Global Commercial Banking.

    Who will Ming Lau report to in his new role?
    In his new role as CFO for Asia at Manulife, Ming Lau will report to Colin Simpson, the Global CFO of Manulife.

  • Manulife to become VietinBank’s exclusive insurance partner with Aviva purchase

    Manulife to become VietinBank’s exclusive insurance partner with Aviva purchase

    Canadian insurer Manulife will acquire the Vietnamese business of British company Aviva and its 16-year bancassurance deal with VietinBank.

    It will take over the exclusive partnership with VietinBank when the deal is completed, Manulife and the lender agreed on Monday.

    The state-owned lender chose Manulife as its bancassurance partner because of its long-term commitment to Vietnam, deputy director of VietinBank, Nguyen Duc Thanh, said at the agreement-signing ceremony.

    He said his bank’s board expects the bancassurance business to grow by 30 percent annually and contribute 6-8 percent of the income from services.

    Manulife expects the partnership to increase its market share in the country from 20 percent to 30 percent in the coming years. It is currently the exclusive insurance partner of the country’s largest private lender, Techcombank.

    Aviva did not reveal the value of the sale but said in a statement that it expects the transaction to increase its net asset value and solvency surplus by around GBP100 million ($133.67 million).

    The company is looking to sell its operations in continental Europe and Asia to focus on Britain, Ireland and Canada.

    Vietnam had 18 life insurance companies with combined premium revenues of VND106.6 trillion ($4.6 billion) last year, up 24 percent year-on-year. In terms of new contracts, Manulife led the market for the first time last year with 17.7 percent followed by Bao Viet Holdings with 16.49 percent and Prudential Vietnam with 15.78 percent, according to the Ministry of Finance.

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  • Manulife in upbeat mood after first half surge

    Manulife in upbeat mood after first half surge

    Manulife Indonesia president director and chief executive officer (CEO) Indren S. Naidoo (right) and Manulife Aset Manajemen Indonesia chief economist and investment strategist Katarina Setiawan talk on the sidelines of a press briefing in Jakarta on Wednesday.

    Despite the country’s weak economy, life insurer Manulife Indonesia enjoyed a sharp increase in new business premiums during the first semester of the year on the back of surging wealth and insurance sales.

    Its total new business premiums soared by 28 percent year-on-year (yoy) to Rp 1.8 trillion (US$135 million) in the first semester, according to Manulife’s unaudited financial results for the first semester of 2016.

    During the January and June period, Manulife’s wealth sales rose 27 percent yoy to Rp 1 trillion from
    Rp 785 billion, while its insurance sales increased 17 percent yoy to Rp 764 billion from the corresponding period in 2015.

    As of June, Manulife’s total premium and deposits amounted to Rp 9.1 trillion, a 12 percent hike from Rp 8.1 trillion recorded in the same month last year. The number of the company’s in-force policies, meanwhile, grew steadily to 2,297,305 from 2,250,210 recorded in June last year.

    “We are confident that our business will book positive growth over this year,” Manulife’s newly appointed president director and chief executive officer Indren S. Naidoo told a press briefing on Wednesday.

    Indren, who assumed his position in May, said he was optimistic that the company could tap into the growing insurance market in Indonesia, which is the most populous country in Southeast Asia, but has low insurance penetration.

    Indonesia’s economy expanded an annual 4.92 percent in the January-March quarter, below analysts’ expectation of 5.05 percent. Growth weakened for the fifth straight year in 2015, to 4.8 percent, amid poor commodity prices and contracting exports.

    Financial Services Authority (OJK) data showed that conventional insurance premiums accounted for just 2.37 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) during the first quarter of the year. Life insurance penetration rates, meanwhile, reached 0.93 percent of the GDP in the January-March period.

    “Compared to some other markets in Asia, we are actually quite low. So, the opportunity is there,” said Indren, who previously assumed CEO positions at Manulife units in the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia prior to his current position.

    Indren said Manulife would continue to expand its unit-linked products, which have become the main driver of the company’s business growth.

    The contribution of Manulife’s unit-linked products, which combine insurance and investment products such as government bonds and stocks, “was close to 80 percent of our business”, Indren said, explaining that the insurer would continue to promote the instrument as customers still expected double-digit returns on their investment amid the downward trend in banks’ deposit interest rate.

    In the first half of the year, Manulife launched unit-linked product Mi Wealth Insurance to further boost its investment-linked insurance products.

    He expressed his optimism that the burgeoning middle-income segment in the country, expected to reach 100 million of people by 2020, would be a boon for Manulife’s unit-linked products, which are aimed to higher-end customers.

    The CEO said Manulife would continuously educate potential customers on life insurance, as well as its unit-linked instruments by leveraging its 8,000 agents in 25 branches across the country and its bankassurance service, for which the insurer has forged partnerships with three lenders in the country: DBS, Bank Danamon and sharia-based Bank Muamalat.

    “We are here not to sell, but to teach [the customers]. At the end of the day, you, as a customer, will make the decision [on whether to buy Manulife’s products],” Indren said.

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  • Manulife Indonesia to spin off sharia business unit, increase market share

    Manulife Indonesia to spin off sharia business unit, increase market share

    Manulife Indonesia has submitted a proposal to the Financial Services Authority (OJK) to generate a bigger market share for its holding company by creating a spin-off of its sharia business unit, a company executive has said.

    “We have submitted the documents for the spin-off to the OJK,” Manulife Indonesia’s sharia unit head Yetty Rochyatini said in Jakarta.

    She said the Canada-based company was waiting for the OJK to complete a new regulation on sharia mutual funds, which would be released this year.

    Manulife’s sharia business unit recorded 31 percent growth year-on-year in its risk-based capital to 125 percent in the first quarter of 2016. The government has stipulated that all sharia insurance companies must have a minimum risk-based capital of 30 percent.

    Yetty said the company’s qard (benevolent sharia loan) funds amounted to Rp 240 billion (US$18.2 million), enough to meet the solvency level needed.

    According to the company’s unaudited financial report, the sharia business unit recorded Rp 25.2 billion of gross premium income in the first quarter of this year, an 84 percent increase year-on-year.

    “While waiting for the OJK to formulate the regulation, we continue to prepare ourselves by enlarging the business size and boosting sales,” Yetty said.

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  • Canada’s Manulife seeks to revive Singapore REIT IPO this year -exec

    Canada’s Manulife seeks to revive Singapore REIT IPO this year -exec

    Canada’s Manulife Financial Corp is looking to revive a plan to list a real estate investment trust in Singapore this year after an initial public offering (IPO) was shelved last year due to poor market conditions.

    “We’d very much like to bring it back,” Chief Financial Officer Stephen Roder told reporters at the launch of a 15-year life bancassurance partnership with Singapore’s DBS Group Holdings Ltd on Tuesday. He did not give an exact time frame or expected size of any IPO.

    Manulife shelved a nearly $400 million real estate investment trust IPO in Singapore in the third quarter last year citing deteriorating global markets.

    That left BHG Retail REIT as Singapore’s sole REIT IPO last year after several other deals were pulled due to uncertain financial markets and concerns over the impact of a potential U.S. interest rate hike.

    On Tuesday, Manulife and DBS also said they would co-invest up to S$100 million ($70.24 million) over the next 15 years in digital technology and innovation.

    ($1 = 1.4237 Singapore dollars)

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