July 6 : NBA China announced the formation of a long-term partnership with the insurance company Manulife-Sinochem. The company will become the official life insurance partner of the NBA China’s 5v5 elite basketball tournament, which is a grassroot tournament launched in China in summer 2016. It is the first partnership formed between NBA China and an insurance provider in China’s market. NBA China is also the first world-famous professional sports league signing a partnership with Manulife-Sinochem.

Manulife-Sinochem will donate and repair basketball courts in different cities of China, in order to encourage more teenagers to play basketball and to develop new talents together with NBA China. Moreover, in the upcoming school year,Manulife-Sinochem will join the Jr.NBA program to organize basketball camps in 5 cities of China. The aim of these camps is to promote basketball among Chinese teenagers.

Manulife-Sinochem is the first ever Sino-foreign joint venture life insurance company in China, which was jointly founded by Manufacturers Life Insurance Company (Canada) and Sinochem Finance Co., Ltd.. Sinochem Finance belongs to the Sinochem Group, one of China’s four state-owned oil companies,a leading chemical products and service provider and China’s biggest operator in agricultural products (fertilizer, seeds and agrochemicals) and services.

Source: Sina Sports

Proofread by Linda Barouk