Manulife Asia CEO Steve Finch said on an earnings call Thursday that he expects mainland China customers to keep accessing Manulife’s services in Hong Kong, even as some insurance stocks tumbled this week on news that China will begin taxing offshore insurance policies. (The Logic)

Talking point: Manulife’s shares remained flat after its earnings call, when Finch told analysts that the policies in China are “absolutely not destroying the outlook” for the business. Both Manulife and Sun Life have been courting more business in China and Hong Kong, but have faced increasingly stringent regulations. In Hong Kong, the insurance authority has tightened controls on brokers, and China’s tax regulators have added new rules for income from offshore trusts, although Finch characterized the latter policy as a way of enforcing existing rules. Manulife reportedly pulled a loan product for high-net-worth clients in Hong Kong this summer after scrutiny from regulators. Asia generates the most net income of any region for the Toronto-based insurer, which operates in about a dozen Asian markets.   

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