The business said that once the transaction is wrapped up, it will be the first wealth and asset manager to turn a JV into a 100 per cent public-owned public fund management firm. It is also a first for a Canadian company.

Manulife Investment Management has won regulatory approval from China to buy 51 per cent of the shares of Manulife TEDA Fund Management Co from its joint venture, taking total control of the business and creating the first such deal.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission gave the green light to the transaction, Manulife said in a statement yesterday. 

The firm said that once the transaction is finished, it will be the first wealth and asset manager to convert its joint venture into a 100 per cent-owned public fund management company, and the first Canadian financial services company to wholly-own a public fund management company in China.

The regulatory approval comes after Manulife appointed Xu Jin as chairman of its wealth and asset management business in China earlier this month.

Manulife Investment Management has been a 49 per cent partner in the JV since 2010. 

“As a company with a long history in managing our customers’ wealth across insurance and investments, we are privileged to be able to help customers in China achieve their financial objectives while managing their wealth through our fully-owned public fund management company,” Paul Lorentz, president and CEO, Global Wealth and Asset Management, Manulife Investment Management, said. 

Manulife cited data showing that it can ride an upward escalator of assets in China, noting that in 2021, China’s total retail fund assets under management grew by 27 per cent year-on-year to $3.8 trillion – and this is forecast to more than double by 2025.