Manulife turns up the heat on second-tier MPF providers

On December 1, Hong Kong introduces its first compulsory retirement scheme, the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF). But around 84% of the city's 300,000 employers have yet to sign up a pension provider - resulting in intense market competition. Second-tier firms have relied on a well-honed sales pitch: they may not be the biggest or the cheapest, but they more than make up for that in terms of service. But even this advantage may soon be eroded, due to a new marketing ploy launched this month by one of the largest pension providers in the MPF market.