Exclusive | Manulife doubling down on rich mainland Chinese customers, to open new Hong Kong prestige centre and invest in digital tools, CEO says
- Insurer’s prestige customer centre in tourist hotspot Tsim Sha Tsui will cater to high-net-worth individuals
- Insurer plans to invest US$459 million in Asia in a three-year period ending this year
The insurer will open the centre in tourist hotspot of Tsim Sha Tsui this quarter to cater to high-net-worth individuals. The new, more than 5,000 sq ft facility will be close to its first, 10,000-plus sq ft centre at Gateway.
“It shows the scale of the increase that we are seeing in mainland customers’ demand,” Manulife Asia’s Phil Witherington said in an interview with the Post.
Manulife joins the ranks of HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Prudential and Sun Life, who have in the past two years expanded luxury customer centres where their agents or brokers meet wealthy customers for the sale of insurance and wealth-management products.
Witherington relocated from Canada to Hong Kong last month to take up the role of Asia CEO. He was formerly chief financial officer at Manulife and replaced Damien Green, who has become chair of Manulife Financial Asia and will help develop the insurer’s Asia strategy.
The full reopening of China’s border with Hong Kong on January 8 was a boost for Manulife, which saw Hong Kong sales double in the second quarter to HK$2.1 billion (US$267.9 million) as mainland customers returned to buy products to hedge against the risks of a falling yuan. China’s currency has weakened by more than 5 per cent against the US dollar this year.
Rival insurer AIA has also seen its Hong Kong business double in the first half, according its results announcement on Thursday.
“We will continue to invest and increase the level of investments in our digital tools to support agents and customers,” Witherington said, adding that the insurer plans to invest HK$3.6 billion in Asia in a three-year period ending this year.
“We have around 100,000 agents across Asia, and our plan is actually to increase the productivity of our agents. It is less about the number of agents but more about how productive these agents are. Our investment in digital tools can enhance the productivity and user experience for our 13 million customers across Asia.”
Strong first-half growth moves Manulife a step closer to achieving its medium-term target of seeing its Asia profit represent 50 per cent of all its earnings, up from 40 per cent in 2022.
Manulife’s other Asian markets have seen sales grow by 12 per cent in the second quarter. Its China joint venture had its strongest second quarter on record.
The firm expanded its coverage of mainland Chinese hospitals for medical policy holders in Hong Kong in the first half of this year, so local and mainland visitors who bought its policies can now access more than 3,000 hospitals on the mainland.
The insurer reported growth of 11 per cent in its premiums during the three years of the Covid-19 pandemic, even though the whole Hong Kong insurance industry saw sales decline 22 per cent during this period. This is mainly due to its agents turning their attention towards domestic clients.
“We have seen a very strong domestic performance, as well as a strong rebound in mainland Chinese visitors in the first half of this year,” Witherington said.
“Looking ahead, we will focus on organic growth, and we are cautiously optimistic that the second half of this year will continue the growth momentum, as we have introduced new products to target the health and retirement needs of customers.”
