Manulife Insurance Berhad, the Malaysian subsidiary of Canadian financial services firm Manulife Financial, has opened a new branch at the central business district of Melaka, Malaysia.

The new office is located at Jalan Merdeka, Taman Melaka Raya, the financial centre. The launch strengthens the company's existing network of regional support centres in Kuala Lumper, Petaling Jaya, Johor Baru, Bukit Mertajam, Ipoh, Kuching and Sibu and complements its drive to add more branches over the next two years. Melaka is one of the smaller states in Malaysia where tourism makes up three quarters of its annual gross domestic product.

"Strategically located in the city centre, this new branch is easily accessible to our customers and agents. Equally important, we are now better able to cater to the financial protection needs of our growing customer base in this region of nearly 800,000 people," said Michael Chan, chief executive of Manulife Insurance Berhad.

Manulife serves some 6,000 clients in Melaka. Some of the services offered in the new branch include payment collections and customer advice and support. Manulife Insurance has around RM3.5 billion ($1.1 million) in assets under management as of 30 June 2011.