Vietnams Olympic Team Send off Ceremony Held

<div align="justify"><font size="2">Vietnam Olympic Committee and Manulife Vietnam, the official Worldwide Life Insurance Partner of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, held a special send off ceremony for the Vietnam Olympic team as they leave for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 10, in the Hotel Nikko Hanoi. </font></div> <div align="justify"><font size="2"></font></div> <div align="justify"><font size="2"></font></div> <div align="justify"><font size="2">The Vietnam Olympic Committee and <span>Manulife </span>Vietnam were honored to welcome Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem, Minister of Sports, Culture & Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh as well as other distinguished senior government officials in Vietnam to the ceremony. </font></div> <div align="justify"><font size="2"></font></div> <div align="justify"><font size="2"></font></div> <div align="justify"><font size="2">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 been a part of the Olympics since the 1980 Games in Moscow. Since then, it has achieved considerable growth not only in the number of qualified athletes but also the quality of its people. </font></div> <div align="justify"><font size="2"></font></div> <div align="justify"><font size="2"></font></div> <div align="justify"><font size="2">At the event, badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh, representing the entire team, took an oath to demonstrate the determination to compete with the best efforts during the Games for the victory of Vietnam.</font></div> <div align="justify"><font size="2"></font></div> <div align="justify"><font size="2"></font></div> <div align="justify"><font size="2">"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 admire their hard work and perseverance to qualify for the worlds largest and most recognized sports competition. The Olympics is a global test of excellence. It is everybodys 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. </font></div> <div align="justify"><font size="2"></font></div> <div align="justify"><font size="2"></font></div> <div align="justify"><font size="2">Addressing the send off ceremony, Professor Hoang Vinh Giang, Vice Chairman and General Secretary of Vietnam Olympic team, spoke highly of Manulifes sponsorship support to the Vietnam Olympic team. </font></div> <div align="justify"><font size="2"></font></div> <div align="justify"><font size="2"></font></div> <div align="justify"><font size="2">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 Vietnams 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.</font></div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify"><font size="2"></font></div> <div align="justify">"The companys 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 as they prepare for the Beijing Games. Participating and winning in the Olympics 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".</div>