(January 13 – 09″45 ET) – Things went so well in Ho Chi Minh City that Manulife is opening a branch of its new joint venture in Hanoi.

The Chinfon-Manulife Insurance Co. of Vietnam, a joint venture of Canada’s Manulife Financial and Taiwan’s Chinfon Global Corp. conglomerate, is the first foreign-owned insurer to return to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

It says the Hanoi branch is coming in significantly ahead of expectations, just six months after it opened up shop in Vietnam, due to the success of the venture.

“The first six-months have exceeded our expectations,” Chinfon Group chairman, Dr. Shi H. Huang, said today in Hanoi. “A few short months ago we spoke about doing everything possible to capitalize on the advantage of being the first foreign-owned life insurer in Vietnam. We talked about building an outstanding reputation and solid market position; today’s opening in Hanoi is a clear sign that we are moving in the right direction.”

Today, Manulife Financial also donated $79,000 through Chinfon-Manulife to Vietnamese flood relief.