Vietnam Currency Discussion Board

[RICK C]

Manulife Vietnam Fund Management Company -----

HCM City (VNA) – Manulife Vietnam Fund Management Company announced last weekend the successful closing of its Manulife Progressive Fund (MAFPF1), having reached its goal of 25 million certificates each valued at 10,000 VND.

The fund attracted more than 1,000 retail and institutional investors. A general meeting of investors is scheduled for October 6 at HCM City’s Sheraton Hotel.

“The fund will give investors access to Viet Nam’s rapid economic development and the strong long term performance expected from its equity market,” said Fund Manager Mark Canizares. “ It will be one of the few such funds offered to Viet Nam’s investors that will be focused on Viet Nam equities.

MAFPF1 will choose companies with better corporate governance, high quality earnings growth and long-term potential. Investments will also go into companies with sound balance sheets and strong senior management teams that are likely to benefit from Viet Nam WTO’s accession.

“We are delighted that the fund has proven to be such a popular choice with investors and that we have been able to successfully close it in less than two months, in advance of our expectations. We believe this is a good time to be investing in this market for the longer term as Viet Nam is in the very early stages of its economic reforms,” said Gilbert Pak, General Director of Manulife Vietnam Fund Management Company.

“We believes that the equity market will continue to perform in line with the rapidly expanding economy and recent price corrections have made some shares especially attractive,” Pak added.

“We have a strong and proven record of providing effective wealth management and investment solutions for clients and we believe that makes for a compelling proposition for Vietnamese investors. Our investment principles are depth, discipline and focus. We will focus our investment strategies and a strong management team and that are likely to benefit from Viet Nam’s WTO accession”, Pak said.

On June 14,2005, Manulife Vietnam Fund Management (MVFM), a wholly-owned local subsidiary of Manulife Vietnam, was granted a licence to operate a fund management and investment-finance consulting business, further expanding the Canadian life insurance company Manulife Vietnam’s product offerings for its customers.

MVFM manages around 3,000 billion VND assets including bonds and equities.