to change its legal form from a joint stock company to a mutual organization, making the company privately owned by its policyholders. In 1984, Manulife announced that it had acquired Waterloo, Ontario-based Dominion Life Assurance Company, a deal that included the purchase of all of the outstanding stock of the company from Lincoln National. Dominion Life was founded in Waterloo in 1889, and Manulife made a commitment to the community to retain a significant presence in Waterloo. In 1988, Manulife opened a new five-storey office building at 500 King Street North in Waterloo to house its Canadian Division. In 1996, the company entered an agreement with Sinochem to form Shanghai-based Zhong Hong Life Insurance Co. Ltd., China's first joint venture life insurance company, and was granted a license that made it the second foreign insurer to be allowed re-entry into China. That same year, the company amalgamated with North American Life. Demutualization and public company In 1999, its voting eligible policyholders approved demutualization, and the shares of Manulife, the holding company of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company and its subsidiaries, began trading on The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) under the ticker "MFC", and on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK) under the ticker "945". In 2002, Manulife–Sinochem Life Insurance Co. Ltd. was granted approval by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) to open a branch office in Guangzhou, China, the first branch license granted to a foreign invested joint–venture life insurance company. In 2003, Manulife-Sinochem received approval for a branch office in Beijing, the first multiple-branch license granted to a foreign-invested joint venture life insurance company. The firm is now licensed to operate in more than 50 Chinese cities. On September 29, 2003, Manulife announced its intent to acquire the Boston-based insurance company John Hancock Financial (including a Canadian subsidiary, Maritime Life) for $10.4 billion in a stock-for-stock merger. The merged entity would initially be led by John Hancock's CEO David F. D'Alessandro, but he would step down in June 2004. In 2008, Manulife announced that Gail Cook-Bennett would become the first female Chair of the Board. Cook-Bennett was the first female Board Member of the company appointed in 1978. In September 2009, the company purchased AIC's Canadian retail investment fund business. In October 2009, it purchased Pottruff & Smith Travel Insurance Brokers Inc., a Canadian broker