Manulife narrows gap with HSBC in race for leading share of Mandatory Provident Fund

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Manulife believes rising MPF market share will lead to economies of scale and eventually lower management fees. Photo: David Wong

Published: 7:49pm, 16 Nov 2016Updated: 10:43pm, 16 Nov 2016

Manulife (International) Limited, the second-largest fund provider to the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF), has set its sights on eventually surpassing HSBC for the No 1 spot, bolstered by its recent acquisition of the MPF business of Standard Chartered.

“We hope the day will come as soon as possible,” Luzia Hung, senior vice president at Manulife said, adding that the company did not rule out further acquisitions.

“Generally there will be further consolidation in the market because efficiency and scale are becoming more important,” Guy Mills, chief executive officer of Manulife said.

Manulife announced the acquisition of StanChart’s MPF and Occupational Retirement Schemes Ordinance (ORSO) businesses in September 2015, without disclosing the price. They kicked off the 15-year exclusive MPF distribution partnership starting from November, which allows Manulife to distribute its products to StanChart’s individual and corporate customers in the city.

Standard Chartered has over 1.2 million retail clients, with thousands of corporate clients and 90 branches around the city.

From left, Luzia Hung, senior vice president and head of employee benefits, Manulife; Guy Mills, chief executive of Manulife; May Tan, chief executive for Hong Kong, Standard Chartered; and Vicky Kong, managing director and regional head, wealth Management, Greater China and North Asia, Standard Chartered. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

“We do have a distribution network that Manulife can leverage,” May Siew Boi Tan, chief executive at Standard Chartered said.