Vietnam Olympic Committee and Manulife Vietnam holds the send off ceremony for Vietnam's Olympic team (1 August 2008)

Hanoi - Today, exactly one week before the 2008 Olympic Games open in Beijing, the Vietnam Olympic Committee and Manulife Vietnam, the official Worldwide Life Insurance Partner of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, has co-organized to hold are holding a the special send off ceremony for the VietnamN Olympic team to as they leave for embark to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at Hotel Nikko Hanoi.

At the event, held in the Hotel Nikko Hanoi, the Vietnam Olympic Committee and Manulife Vietnam were honored to welcome Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem, ExMinister of Sports, Culture & Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh as well as other distinguished senior government officials in Vietnam to the ceremony.

The Vietnam Olympic team, led by Professor Hoang Vinh Giang, Vice Chairman and General Secretary of Vietnam Olympic Committee, includes 53 representatives. Twenty-two out of them are athletes who will compete in nine events at the Olympic Beijing Games comprising taekwondo, weight lifting, badminton, table tennis, gymnastics, shooting, swimming, athletics and wushu, which hits the record of the highest number of Vietnamese athletes to ever take part in an Olympic event. Vietnam has joined been a part of the Olympics since the Olympic the 1980 Games in 1980 in Moscow. Since then, it has achieved considerable growth not only in the number of qualified athletes but also the quality of its people.

At the event, badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh, representing the athlete entire team, took an oath to demonstrate the determination to compete with the best efforts during the Games for the victory of Vietnam.

"As the official life insurance partner of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, we are very excited and proud of this opportunity to send off the Vietnam Olympic Team with the best wishes and hopes of Manulife and the whole nation behind them. We are thrilled by the record of highest number of elite athletes and admired their hard work and perseverance to qualify for the world's largest and most recognized sports competition. The Olympics is a global test of excellence. It is everybody's fervent wish that the Vietnam team will do well at the Games and I would like to wish the Vietnam team great success during the competition." said Mr. David Wong, CEO & General Director of Manulife Vietnam.

Addressing the send off ceremony, Professor Hoang Vinh Giang, Vice Chairman and General Secretary of Vietnam Olympic team, spoke highly of Manulife's sponsorship support to the Vietnam Olympic team.

On this occasion, Mr. David Wong has presented the symbolic scholarship cheque worth of 100 million dong to Badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh who was voted as Vietnam's the most favorite athlete in the on-line Olympic sports voting program held by Manulife Vietnam from 23 May to 14 July with over 1,600 nationwide participants.

"The company's theme for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games is "Bringing Dreams to Life" added Mr. Wong. "We are very honored to have sponsored the impressive body of athletes to as they prepare for the Beijing Games. Participating and winning in the Olympics competition is the lifetime dream of every athlete. In all countries where Manulife conducts its business, our corporate sponsorship dollars go toward helping athletes scale even greater heights and fulfill their lifetime dreams and aspirations during the competition. Much like our business, we share a common value. As a life insurance provider, we help customers reach their financial goals and aspirations to live out their dreams"."

About Manulife (Vietnam) Limited
Manulife Vietnam - the first 100 per cent foreign-owned life insurance company licensed in Vietnam - provides financial services to more than 300,000 customers through a network of over 5,000 professionally qualified agents. Manulife has been operating in Vietnam since June 1999. On June 14, 2005, Manulife Vietnam Fund Management (MVFM), a wholly owned local subsidiary of Manulife Vietnam, was granted license to operate a fund management and investment-finance consulting business, further expanding Manulife Vietnam's product offerings for its customers.

About Manulife Financial
Manulife Financial is a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 19 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia, and primarily through John Hancock in the United States, the Company offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$400 billion (US$389 billion) as at March 31, 2008.

Manulife Financial is one of two publicly traded life insurance companies in the world whose rated life insurance subsidiaries hold Standard & Poor's Rating Services' highest "AAA" rating.

Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '0945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at www.manulife.com.




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