Aug 6 (Reuters) - Manulife Financial ( MFC ) reported

higher second-quarter profit on Wednesday, driven by strong

performance in its Asia unit that boosted the Canadian insurer's

results.

Net income attributable to shareholders came in at C$1.79

billion ($1.30 billion) or 98 Canadian cents per share in the

three months ended June 30, compared with C$1.04 billion, or 52

Canadian cents per share, in the year earlier.

($1 = 1.3741 Canadian dollars)