HONG KONG/SINGAPORE, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Canadian insurer
Manulife Financial Corp MFC.TO is nearing a deal to buy
British bank Standard Chartered 's STAN.L Hong Kong pension
business for about $400 million, people familiar with the matter
told Reuters.
Toronto-based Manulife has been stepping up its Asian
presence in quest of faster growth. Asia accounted for more than
half of Manulife's insurance sales in the first quarter of 2015.
For Standard Chartered , the sale would mark a further
retreat from Hong Kong, after it exited the consumer finance
unit last year. Standard Chartered managed about HK$20 billion
($2.6 billion) under Hong Kong's mandatory provident fund (MPF)
scheme.
Standard Chartered and Manulife declined to comment. The
sources declined to be identified as the information is not
public.
($1 = 7.7500 Hong Kong dollars)