Manulife Vietnam Fund Management Company celebrates first third-party institutional mandate win — October 14, 2009

TORONTO, October 14, 2009 — Manulife Vietnam Fund Management Company Limited (MVFM) has been awarded a mandate to manage institutional funds for a leading Asian multinational in Vietnam. This is the first third party institutional mandate win for the company, part of MFC Global Investment Management and one of only a few foreign asset management companies to be licensed in Vietnam.

The majority of the mandate's funds will be invested in Vietnamese fixed income instruments with some of the money being invested in local equities. The funds will be managed by Putu Yudhana and Mark Canizares, MFC Global Investment Management's fixed income and equity portfolio managers on the ground in Ho Chi Minh City.

Sebastian Subba, Chief Investment Officer of MVFM explained: "Our business in Vietnam has been growing steadily over the past few years as we have focused on developing our investment teams and our back office processes and controls and building our presence in the retail market. We are so proud that this hard work is now also being acknowledged by institutional investors with the awarding of this important third-party mandate."

He continued: "The client chose us because of our performance track record both here in Vietnam and regionally across Asia. This, coupled with the strength of our Manulife parentage, were significant attractions for them, particularly after the financial turmoil of 2008. This is a real achievement for the whole team here - it was a fiercely competitive pitch process and we feel confident this will be the first of many wins for MVFM."

Michael Dommermuth, Head of Asia Investments, MFC Global Investment Management (Asia) said: "This mandate is very exciting for our business in Vietnam as we know that the client was impressed with our rigorous risk management, our tight investment controls and the professionalism of our team in Ho Chi Minh City. They also recognised the benefits of doing business with a company that is part of a large global investment house with a strong Asia market presence. These are all attributes which will stand us in good stead as we continue to develop our third party business in Vietnam and elsewhere."

Sebastian concludes: "We expect to see Vietnam continuing to benefit from strong Foreign Direct Investment flows and solid local growth thanks to the government's investment in local infrastructure projects. We are focusing on leveraging our unique position as one of the few foreign fund managers with a strong, professional team on the ground to capitalise as Vietnam's investment market continues its rapid development."

About MFC Global Investment Management
MFC Global Investment Management® is the asset management division of Manulife Financial. MFC Global Investment Management's diversified group of companies provides comprehensive asset management solutions for institutional investors, investment funds and individuals in key markets around the world. This investment expertise extends across a full range of asset classes including equity, fixed income and alternative investments such as oil and gas, real estate, timber, farmland, as well as asset allocation strategies.

MFC Global Investment Management has investment offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong, and throughout Asia. Additional information about MFC Global Investment Management may be found at www.mfcglobal.com.

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