Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is advising FWD Life Insurance Company (Bermuda) Limited ("FWD") in the sale of its pension business, consisting of Mandatory Provident Fund ("MPF") and Occupational Retirement Schemes Ordinance ("ORSO") businesses to Sun Life Hong Kong Limited ("Sun Life").

As part of the sale, FWD and Sun Life will also enter into a 15-year strategic distribution agreement allowing FWD’s tied agency to distribute Sun Life’s MPF and ORSO products in the Hong Kong market.

The transactions are expected to be completed during 2017 and 2018, subject to obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals.

The Debevoise team is led by international counsel Edwin Northover and includes international counsel Stuart J. Valentine and associate Jayne Chi-Wing So. Tax advice was provided by London-based partner Richard Ward and associate Ceinwen Rees.

As part of a spate of market consolidation, this is the third major disposal of a MPF business in Hong Kong in recent years (each having their own bespoke post-closing distribution arrangement). Debevoise has acted for the sellers on all three of these transactions, with Drew Dutton and Edwin Northover representing AXA in the sale of its MPF business to Principal Financial and Standard Chartered in the sale of its MPF business to Manulife.

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