Manulife Financial Corp said that Mark O’Dell, who quit as the Singapore general manager of American International Group Inc’s (AIA) life insurance unit last week, has joined as the head of its Taiwan operations.
O’Dell will probably start work at Manulife at the end of next month, Emil Lee (李漢雄), acting head of Manulife (International) Ltd in Taipei, said by telephone. O’Dell, who has been with American International Assurance Co Singapore for more than 14 years, left the company on Thursday last week.
O’Dell’s departure came during a week when customers crowded the headquarters of AIA Singapore to terminate their policies after AIG agreed to turn over control to the US government last week in exchange for a federal loan of as much as US$85 billion.
The Globe and Mail reported yesterday that the Canadian insurer is considering a bid for the Asian operations of AIG, citing people familiar with the matter.
Manulife chief executive officer Dominic D’Alessandro and his successor Don Guloien have met with investment bankers and financial advisers in the past week to look at an offer for parts of AIG, the Globe and Mail reported the sources as saying.
The Toronto-based insurer is most likely to bid for AIG’s Asian operations, the newspaper said.
Manulife, the second-largest life insurer in North America by market value, last month agreed to buy Taiwan’s Fuhwa Securities Investment Trust Co (復華投信) from Yuanta Financial Holdings Co (元大金控).
Manulife didn’t say how much it paid for the asset manager.
The acquisition, likely to be completed in the fourth quarter, will add seven new retail funds to Manulife’s portfolio in Taiwan and about US$1.3 billion in assets under management.
Manulife was the first Canadian insurance company to enter Taiwan, in 1992, and employs more than 200 people and has about 1,500 agents.
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