Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Manulife Financial Corp., North America’s largest insurer by market value, may triple its offices in China over the next five years to expand on the continent, Chief Executive Officer Donald Guloien said.

Manulife, which has 36 offices in the country through its Manulife-Sinochem Life Insurance joint venture, plans to increase its presence to between 75 and 100 cities and triple its agents to 30,000, Guloien said. The venture also is seeking to distribute its products through banks and brokerages.

“We’re very pleased with our operations in China,” Guloien said in a telephone interview after returning from a week-long trip. Business in China “some day could be the same size as the U.S.,” which accounted for about two-thirds of the firm’s C$33 billion ($30 billion) in revenue last year.

Guloien, who took over the top position from former CEO Dominic D’Alessandro in May, has identified Asia as one of Manulife’s areas for growth, along with Europe. Profit from the Toronto-based company’s Asia and Japan division more than quadrupled to C$885 million in the second quarter on gains from its variable annuities operations.

Guloien, 52, traveled to China last week as part of a delegation of finance industry executives organized by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, who sought to win more business for Canadian businesses by nurturing ties with government officials.

Flaherty met with Vice Premier Li Keqiang, Chinese central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan, his counterpart Xie Xuren, as well as financial industry regulators and municipal government officials.

Relationships

“The reaction to the trip was very positive,” Guloien said on Aug. 15. “That’s very important. The Chinese put a lot of importance on relationships.”

Manulife began its venture with Sinochem in 1996, according to its Web site. Manulife owns 51 percent of the partnership, which operates in cities including Shanghai, Beijing and Guangdong.

Manulife, owner of John Hancock Financial in the U.S., rose 12 cents to C$21.69 in 4:10 p.m. trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The shares have climbed 4.3 percent this year, lagging behind the 10 percent gain for the six-member S&P/TSX Life & Health Insurance Index.

To contact the reporters on this story: Theophilos Argitis in Ottawa at targitis@bloomberg.net; Sean B. Pasternak in Toronto at spasternak@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 18, 2009 16:15 EDT