Will strengthen Sun Life Financials' position in the
Hong Kong pension market
TORONTO, Aug. 3, 2016 /CNW/ - Sun Life Financial Inc.
(TSX: SLF) (NYSE: SLF) announced today that Sun Life Hong Kong
Limited ("Sun Life HK") will acquire the pension business of FWD
Life Insurance Company (Bermuda)
Limited ("FWD"), consisting of Mandatory Provident Fund ("MPF") and
Occupational Retirement Schemes Ordinance ("ORSO") businesses. Sun
Life HK and FWD will also enter into an exclusive 15-year
distribution agreement that will allow Sun Life HK to distribute
its pension products through FWD's agency force in Hong Kong. (Collectively the
"transactions".)
"Expanding our pension business is a key priority for our
Asia operations and deepens our
wealth business in the region," said Dean
Connor, President and CEO, Sun Life Financial. "With the
growth expected in the MPF market to meet the needs of Hong Kong's ageing population, this is an
attractive opportunity that fits with our global expertise in the
pension market."
The transactions announced today, together with Sun Life HK's
acquisition of the MPF business of Schroder Investment Management
(Hong Kong) Limited, will
strengthen Sun Life HK's position as a leading MPF provider. These
acquisitions will add HK$4.6 billion
(C$769 million) in MPF assets under
management ("AUM"), and bring Sun Life HK's combined AUM to
HK$34.7 billion (C$5.8 billion).1
"This partnership provides an excellent opportunity for us to
expand our distribution network. It will further accelerate our
already strong growth in the Hong
Kong retirement market and follows our new strategic
relationship with Schroder Investment Management," said
Kevin Strain, President, Sun Life
Financial Asia.
The transactions are expected to be completed in stages over the
course of 2017 and 2018, subject to the receipt of regulatory
approvals and satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
Financial terms of the transactions were not disclosed.
Forward-looking information
In this forward-looking information section, "we", "our" and "us"
refer to Sun Life Financial Inc. and its subsidiaries and joint
ventures. Certain statements in this news release are
forward-looking, including, but not limited to, statements that are
not historical or that are predictive in nature or that depend upon
or refer to future events or conditions. All such forward-looking
statements are made pursuant to the "safe harbour provisions" of
applicable Canadian securities laws and of the United States
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The
forward-looking statements in this news release represent our
current expectations, estimates and projections regarding future
events as of the time of this news release and are not historical
facts. These forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of
future performance and involve risks and uncertainties and are
based on key factors and assumptions that are difficult to predict,
including the assumption that the transactions will be completed.
Except as may be required by applicable Canadian securities laws,
we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements contained in this news release.
Forward-looking statements are presented to assist investors and
others in understanding our objectives for the transactions,
strategic priorities and business outlook following the
transactions, and in obtaining a better understanding of our
anticipated operating environment following the transactions.
Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements may not
be appropriate for other purposes and undue reliance should not be
placed on these forward-looking statements. Information about risk
factors relating to us can be found in the annual information form
of Sun Life Financial Inc. for the year ended December 31, 2015 under the heading "Risk
Factors" and other regulatory filings filed with or furnished to
Canadian and U.S. securities regulators available at www.sedar.com
and www.sec.gov.
Use of non-IFRS financial measures
This news release includes certain forward-looking financial
information using non-International Financial Reporting Standards
("IFRS") financial measures, including AUM, as we believe that
these measures provide information that is useful to investors in
understanding our expected performance.
These non-IFRS financial measures do not have any standardized
meaning, may not be comparable with similar measures used by other
companies and there are no directly comparable amounts under IFRS.
Forward-looking non-IFRS financial measures cannot be reconciled to
IFRS measures. These non-IFRS financial measures should not be
viewed as alternatives to measures of financial performance
determined in accordance with IFRS.
About Sun Life Financial
Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services
organization providing a diverse range of protection and wealth
products and services to individuals and corporate customers. Sun
Life Financial has operations in a number of markets worldwide,
including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong
Kong, the Philippines,
Japan, Indonesia, India, China,
Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of March
31, 2016, the Sun Life Financial group of companies had
total assets under management of C$861
billion. For more information please visit
www.sunlife.com.
Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New
York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the
ticker symbol SLF.
1 AUM figures are at March 31, 2016. Sun Life HK's acquisition
of the Schroder MPF business is expected to be completed in the
second half of 2016.
SOURCE Sun Life Financial Inc.