Nov 6 (Reuters) - Manulife Financial ( MFC ) posted a

better-than-expected third-quarter profit on Wednesday, as the

Canadian insurer benefited from a robust performance in its Asia

and wealth management businesses.

Canada's leading life insurers have increasingly focused on

expansion in Asia, a key market for their growth and global

exposure.

Core earnings from Manulife's Asia business jumped 17% to

C$453 million ($324.96 million) in the quarter compared to last

year.

The strong performance in the Asia unit was driven by higher

insurance sales in Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore and

Japan, Manulife said.

Manulife's annual premium equivalent (APE), an important

sales metric used by life insurers, jumped 40% during the

quarter, powered by a 64% jump in its Asia unit.

The results mirror those of smaller rival Sun Life,

which also beat expectations for quarterly profit, thanks to

strong insurance sales.

Manulife's wealth and asset management business was another

bright spot, with core earnings from the unit jumping 37% to a

record C$499 million.

The unit generated higher fee income, thanks to higher

equity markets and strong net flows.

Manulife's wealth and asset management saw net inflows

of C$5.2 billion, compared to net outflows of C$0.8 billion a

year earlier, driven by strong retail net flows.

The demand for investment products rose amid an equity

market recovery, resulting in strong retail net flows, Manulife

said.

The company's core earnings increased to C$1.83 billion, or

C$1.00 per share, in the three months ended Sept. 30, from

C$1.74 billion, or 92 Canadian cents per share, a year ago.

Analysts, on average, had expected Manulife to earn 94

Canadian cents per share, according to estimates compiled by

LSEG.

($1 = 1.3939 Canadian dollars)