Manulife Philippines sees faster growth as economy expands

February 28, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The local unit of Canada-based global insurer Manulife expects its bottom line to sustain a double-digit growth rate this year, driven by a growing population of employed Filipino youth coupled by the anticipated expansion of the economy.

Manulife Philippines president and CEO Rahul Hora said the insurance firm targets to continue growing at a “faster” rate by capitalizing on the positive economic factors in the country.

“The Philippines is a market that has a lot of young people for whom our products are extremely relevant. That market, on a year-on-year basis, keeps growing,” he said.

“The economy of the country continues to do well which means people are going to become richer and hence (their) disposable income will increase,” Hora added.

He pointed out that the projected double-digit growth rate applies across all its financial metrics including net income, premium income and new business annual premium equivalent (NBAPE).

Manulife Philippines ended last year with a 46.2 percent rise in its net income to P2.78 billion from P1.9 billion in 2023. Meanwhile, its premium income rose slightly to P15.83 billion from P15.55 billion.

The insurer also saw a 8.75-percent increase in its NBAPE last year that hit P2.86 billion from P2.63 billion in 2023.

Hora said the company aims to achieve its projected growth by investing their time and efforts on understanding what the consumers want and need.

“We do a lot of research to first understand what the customers want and then we try to bring the products which are relevant to our customers,” he said.

“I think, that to me, is the most important reason why we are very bullish about our growth prospects in the country in the years to come,” he added.

Hora noted that some of the trends that Manulife is seeing in the Philippine market are longevity and mental health issues.

One, Hora explained that more Filipinos are living until the age of 100, which is expected to be a long-term trend with more people becoming centenarians in the future.

Second, mental health has emerged as a top concern for Filipinos today with anxiety and depression topping the list, Hora added.

These contexts become the “center” for the product development of Manulife Philippines to ensure that they meet the customers’ needs and wants, he said.