Manulife Philippines, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Canadian financial services firm Manulife Financial, saw its total weighted insurance sales hit Php1.1 billion ($25 million) for the nine months to September 2011, helped mostly by expansions at its agency and bancassurance salesforces. 

Net agency manpower expanded 31 per cent to 2,839 Insurance Commission-licensed agents as of the end of September, contributing to the 19 per cent increase in total assets under management and 34 per cent rise in total premiums and deposits year-to-date. Total weighted sales grew 54 per cent on the back of a 101 per cent and a 49 per cent gain in total wealth and weighted insurance sales, respectively.  

For the third quarter alone, weighted insurance rose by 30 per cent while total wealth sales grew 16 per cent over the same period in 2010; total premiums and deposits increased 19 per cent.   

Manulife Chinabank Life Assurance Corporation, its bancassurance joint venture, contributed almost a third to the total weighted insurance and wealth sales for the period. The JV has more than 200 financial sales advisors in China Bank branches nationwide. 

"Consumer demand for investment-linked products and a positive market response to our single premium variable life products resulted in growth as of the end of September. This was realized by way of a higher active agent count, accelerated recruitment of organic and experienced agents and continued brand equity building," said Indren Naidoo, president and chief executive of Manulife Philippines.

Manulife Philippines has 22 branches across the country. Manulife Financial continues to expansion its presence in other parts of the fast-growing Asian region. Just this month, the firm opened a new branch in Melaka, Malaysia and launched a new investment account, the New Taiwan Dollar-denominated Da-Fa Investment Account, in Taiwan.